Information displaying method and information displaying device

ABSTRACT

A method of displaying information on a display is provided. The method includes: receiving a request to display, on the display, information indicating whether each of a plurality of battery packs associated with the display, is mounted on a device of a plurality of devices, and, in response to the request, displaying, on a monitor of the display, information indicating whether or not each of the plurality of battery packs associated with the display is mounted on a device. Each of the plurality of battery packs is mountable on the plurality of devices.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/004,764, filed on Jun. 11, 2018, which is a continuationapplication of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/836,933, filed on Aug. 26,2015, which is a continuation application of International ApplicationNo. PCT/JP2015/000274, filed on Jan. 22, 2015, which claims the benefitof Japanese Application No. 2014-017563, filed Jan. 31, 2014, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an information displaying method, aninformation displaying device that display information at a monitor of adisplay device regarding a mounted state of a battery pack mountable toa device, and the battery pack mountable to a device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, there are known electronic devices which detect mountingof a battery pack, detect information relating to trouble in the batterypack regarding which mounting has been detected, performingdetermination regarding trouble of the battery pack based on thedetected information, and display warning screen information relating toa battery pack regarding which determination has been made that there istrouble (e.g., see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2005-321983). The electronic device in Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Publication No. 2005-321983 can notify the user ofinformation such as life expectancy of the battery pack, trouble, and soforth, and can restrict unnecessary charging, activation, and so forth.However, assuming cases where battery packs are mounted to various typesof home appliances, there has been room for improvement with theabove-described related art.

SUMMARY

One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment provides an informationproviding method, information providing, and battery pack, whereby theuser can comprehend the device to which a battery pack has been mounted.

In one general aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature aninformation displaying method includes acquiring a battery identifier toidentify a battery pack associated with a display device and a deviceidentifier to identify a device to which the battery pack has beenmounted, and causing a monitor of the display device to displayinformation indicating that the battery pack corresponding to theacquired battery identifier has been mounted to the device correspondingto the acquired device identifier.

According to the present disclosure, which device a battery pack hasbeen mounted to is notified to a display device, so the user cancomprehend the device to which the battery pack has been mounted.

It should be noted that general or specific embodiments may beimplemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computerprogram, a storage medium, or any selective combination thereof.

Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments willbecome apparent from the specification and drawings. The benefits and/oradvantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments andfeatures of the specification and drawings, which need not all beprovided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/oradvantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an overall image of service providedby a control system according to an embodiment;

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an example where a device manufacturera data center operator;

FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating an example where both or one of thedevice manufacturer and management company is the data center operator;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of aninformation providing system according to a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of theinformation providing system according to the first embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of abattery pack, display device, and cloud server according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in a batterypack management database according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operations of theinformation providing system according to the first embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationdisplayed on a monitor of the display device in the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration ofthe battery pack, display device, and cloud server according to amodification of the first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operations of theinformation providing system according to the modification of the firstembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationdisplayed on the monitor of the display device in the modification ofthe first embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration ofthe battery pack, display device, and cloud server according to a secondembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationdisplayed on the monitor of the display device in the second embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding information relating to a battery pack selected by the user,according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding advertisement information to prompt the user to purchase areplacement battery pack according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding information of devices which can be operated in a case ofmounting the current battery pack, according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding information of a device which can be operated in a case ofmounting the current battery pack, and information of a device whichwill not operate in a case of mounting the current battery pack,according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding an operating button for controlling a battery pack selected bythe user, according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationdisplayed on the monitor of the display device in a case where a batterypack has been mounted to a distribution board, according to the secondembodiment;

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating another example of display informationdisplayed on the monitor of the display device in a case where a batterypack has been mounted to a distribution board, according to the secondembodiment;

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of aninformation providing system according to a third embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration ofa battery pack, display device, and cloud server according to the thirdembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in a batterypack management database according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationdisplayed on a monitor of the display device in the third embodiment;

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating the external view of a distributionboard in a state with a cover open, according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating the external view of the distributionboard in a state with a cover closed, according to the fourthembodiment;

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding information relating to a battery pack selected by the user,and information of devices which can be operated in a case of mountingthe current battery pack, according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding information relating to a battery pack selected by the user,information of a device which can be operated in a case of mounting thecurrent battery pack, and information of a device which will not operatein a case of mounting the current battery pack, according to the fourthembodiment;

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating an overall image of service providedby an information providing system according to a type 1 service(in-house data center type cloud service);

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an overall image of service providedby an information providing system according to a type 2 service (IaaSusage type cloud service);

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an overall image of service providedby an information providing system according to a type 3 service (PaaSusage type cloud service); and

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating an overall image of service providedby an information providing system according to a type 4 service (SaaSusage type cloud service).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Underlying Knowledge Forming Basis of the Present Disclosure

In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-321983,an electronic device detects mounting of a battery pack, detectsinformation relating to trouble in the battery pack regarding whichmounting has been detected, performs determination regarding trouble ofthe battery pack based on the detected information, and displays warningscreen information relating to a battery pack regarding whichdetermination has been made that there is trouble. The warning screeninformation is displayed on a display provided to the electronic device.

The above-described related art does not take into consideration asituation where battery backs are mounted to various home applianceswithin the home, and multiple users share the multiple battery packs, soit is difficult to readily comprehend which battery pack is mounted towhich home appliance.

While the state of a battery back mounted to an electronic device can beconfirmed with the related art, confirming the state of another batterypack mounted to another electronic device is difficult, so it isdifficult to readily comprehend the state of multiple battery packs. Thepresent inventors have reached the findings according to the followingforms to solve such problems.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an informationdisplaying method to display information at a monitor of a displaydevice regarding a mounted state of a battery pack detachably mountableto a device. The method includes acquiring a battery identifier toidentify a battery pack associated with a display device and a deviceidentifier to identify a device to which the battery pack has beenmounted, and causing a monitor of the display device to displayinformation indicating that the battery pack corresponding to theacquired battery identifier has been mounted to the device correspondingto the acquired device identifier.

In this case, the battery identifier to identify the battery packassociated with a display device and the device identifier to identifythe device to which the battery pack has been mounted are acquired.Information indicating that the battery pack corresponding to theacquired battery identifier has been mounted to the device correspondingto the acquired device identifier is then displayed at the monitor ofthe display device.

Accordingly, which device the battery pack has been mounted to isnotified to the display device, so the user can comprehend the device towhich the battery pack has been mounted.

Now, associating the battery pack and display device is performed byassociating a battery identifier and display device, for example, but isnot restricted to this. Any method may be used as long as the batterypack and display device are associated.

The information displaying method may further include acquiring abattery identifier to identify the battery pack and a device identifierto identify the device to which the battery pack has been mounted, uponthe battery pack being mounted to the device, and causing a monitor of adisplay device associated with the battery pack to display informationindicating that the battery pack corresponding to the acquired batteryidentifier has been mounted to the device corresponding to the acquireddevice identifier.

Now, acquisition of the device identifier is performed by acquiring to astorage unit of a server device via a storage unit of the battery pack,but is not restricted to this. That is to say, an arrangement may bemade where acquisition is performed only to the storage unit of thebattery pack. It is sufficient that acquisition of the device identifierbe performed by the at least the storage unit of the battery packacquiring the device identifier when the battery pack is mounted to thedevice; the timing at which the storage device of the server acquiresthe device identifier is optional as long as after the storage device ofthe battery pack has acquired the device identifier.

The battery pack may be connectable to a plurality of devices. In thiscase, the display device is notified of which battery pack of themultiple battery packs has been mounted to which device of the multipledevices, so the user can comprehend the device to which the battery packhas been mounted out of the multiple devices.

The plurality of devices may include a plurality of devices of differenttypes. In this case, the battery pack can be mounted to multiple devicesof different types, and the user can comprehend which device of themultiple different types of devices the battery pack has been mountedto.

The information displaying method may further include, upon a batterypack being mounted to a device, causing a monitor of a display deviceassociated with the battery pack to display information indicating thatthe battery pack corresponding to the acquired battery identifier hasbeen mounted to the device corresponding to the acquired deviceidentifier.

In this case, in a case of a battery pack being mounted to a device, theuser can comprehend the device to which the battery pack has beenmounted.

In the information displaying method, the battery identifier to identifythe battery pack associated with the display device and the deviceidentifier to identify the device to which the battery pack has beenmounted may be aquired upon accepting a request to display the amountedstate of the battery pack associated with the display device on thedisplay device. Information indicating that the battery packcorresponding to the acquired battery identifier has been mounted to thedevice corresponding to the acquired device identifier may be displayedat the monitor of the display device.

In this case, in a case of having accepted a request to display themounted state of the battery pack associated with the display device,the user can comprehend the device to which the battery pack has beenmounted.

In the information displaying method, a second image indicating amounted state of the battery pack may be displayed in the perimeter of afirst image indicating the device to which the battery pack has beenmounted.

In this case, the second image indicating the mounted state of thebattery pack is displayed in the perimeter of the first image indicatingthe device to which the battery pack has been mounted, so the user caneasily confirm to which devices battery packs have been mounted.

In the information displaying method, a second image indicating amounted state of the battery pack may be displayed superimposed on afirst image indicating the device to which the battery pack has beenmounted.

In this case, the second image indicating the mounted state of thebattery pack is displayed superimposed on the first image indicating thedevice to which the battery pack has been mounted, so the user caneasily confirm to which devices battery packs have been mounted.

The information displaying method may further include: acquiring, whenthe display device accepts an input operation from a user to cause themonitor to display a mounted state of a battery pack to a certain deviceout of the plurality of devices, information relating to the number ofbattery packs mountable to the certain device and the mounted, state ofthe battery pack; and causing the monitor to display, in an identifiablemanner, based on the acquired information, the number of battery packsmountable to the certain device, and also to display a state in whichthe battery pack is mounted and a state in which the battery pack is notmounted in mutually different display forms. The battery pack may beconnectable to a plurality of devices.

In this case, the battery pack is connectable to a plurality of devices.Upon accepting the input operation from the user to cause the monitor todisplay the mounted state of the battery pack to the certain device outof the plurality of devices, information relating to the number ofbattery packs mountable to the certain device and the mounted state ofthe battery pack is acquired. Based on the acquired information, thenumber of battery packs mountable to the certain device is displayed inthe identifiable manner, and also the state in which the battery pack ismounted and the state in which the battery pack is not mounted aredisplayed in mutually different display forms. Accordingly, in a case ofhaving accepted the input operation from the user to cause the monitorto display the mounted state of the battery pack of the certain deviceout of multiple devices, the user can easily confirm whether or not thebattery pack has been mounted to the certain device.

In the information displaying method, battery identifiers of all batterypacks mounted to the certain device, and the remaining charge in thebatteries of each of the battery packs may be further acquired uponaccepting the input operation request from the user. In this case,information to identify the battery packs corresponding to the acquiredbattery identifiers, and the remaining charge of the battery packscorresponding to the acquired battery identifiers are displayedtogether.

In this case, upon accepting the input operation from the use to causethe monitor to display the mounted state of the battery pack to thecertain device out of the plurality of devices, battery identifiers ofall battery packs mounted to the certain device, and the remainingcharge in the batteries of each of the battery packs, are acquired.Information to identify the battery packs corresponding to the acquiredbattery identifiers, and the remaining charge of the battery packscorresponding to the acquired battery identifiers, are then displayedtogether. Accordingly, in a case of having accepted the input operationfrom the user to cause the monitor to display the mounted state of thebattery pack of the certain device out of multiple devices, the user caneasily comprehend all battery packs mounted to the certain device, andthe remaining charge of the batteries of each of the battery packs.

The information displaying method may further include: acquiring, uponaccepting an input operation from a user to cause the monitor to displaymounted states of battery packs to a plurality of devices which acertain household has, information relating to the number of batterypacks mountable to all devices which the certain household has and themounted state of each battery pack; and causing the monitor to display,in an identifiable manner, based on the acquired information, the numberof battery packs mountable to all devices which the certain householdhas, and also to display a state in which a battery pack is mounted anda state in which a battery pack is not mounted in mutually differentdisplay forms.

In this case, upon accepting the input operation from the user to causethe monitor to display mounted states of battery packs to a plurality ofdevices which the certain household has, information relating to thenumber of battery packs mountable to all devices which the certainhousehold has and the mounted state of each battery pack is acquired.Based on the acquired information, the number of battery packs mountableto all devices which the certain household has may be displayed in theidentifiable manner, and also the state in which a battery pack ismounted and the state in which the battery pack is not mounted aredisplayed in mutually different display forms.

Accordingly, in a case of accepting the input operation from the user tocause the monitor to display mounted states of battery packs to aplurality of devices which the certain household has, the user caneasily comprehend the number of battery packs mountable to all deviceswhich the certain household has, and whether or not battery packs aremounted to each of all of the devices which the certain household has.

In the information displaying method, battery identifiers of all batterypacks mounted to each of all devices which the certain household has,and the remaining charge in the batteries of each of the battery packsmay be further acquired upon accepting the input operation from the userto cause the monitor to display mounted states of battery packs to aplurality of devices which the certain household has. Information toidentify the battery packs corresponding to the acquired batteryidentifiers, and the remaining charge of the battery packs correspondingto the acquired battery identifiers may be displayed together at themonitor.

In this case, upon accepting the input operation from the user to causethe monitor to display mounted states of battery packs to a plurality ofdevices which the certain household has, battery identifiers of allbattery packs mounted to each of all devices which the certain householdhas, and the remaining charge in the batteries of each of the batterypacks, are acquired. Information to identify the battery packscorresponding to the acquired battery identifiers, and the remainingcharge of the battery packs corresponding to the acquired batteryidentifiers, are then displayed together.

Accordingly, in a case of accepting the input operation from the user tocause the monitor to display mounted states of battery packs to aplurality of devices which the certain household has, the user caneasily comprehend all battery packs mounted to each of all of the devicethat the certain household has, and the remaining charge of thebatteries of each of the battery packs.

The information displaying method may further include: furtheracquiring, upon the battery pack being mounted to the device, a batteryidentifier to identify the battery pack, a device identifier to identifythe device to which the battery pack has been mounted, a user identifierto identify a user that has mounted the battery pack, and date-and-timeinformation indicating the date and time that the battery pack wasmounted; storing the battery identifier, the device identifier, the useridentifier, and the date-and-time information, that have been acquired,as usage history; identifying, upon the battery pack being mounted tothe device, a user identifier associated with a battery pack mounted atgenerally the same point-in-time of a day different from the day wherethe battery pack was mounted, based on the usage history; and causing amonitor of a display device associated with the battery pack to display,in a case where the acquired user identifier and the identified useridentifier are different, information indicating that the battery packcorresponding to the acquired battery identifier has been mounted to thedevice corresponding to the acquired device identifier.

In this case, upon the battery pack being mounted to the device, theuser identifier to identify the user that has mounted the battery pack,and date-and-time information indicating the date and time that thebattery pack was mounted, are further acquired. The battery identifier,the device identifier, the user identifier, and the date-and-timeinformation, that have been acquired, are then stored as usage history.Upon the battery pack being mounted to the device, the user identifierassociated with the battery pack mounted at generally the samepoint-in-time of the day different from the day where the battery packwas mounted, is identified based on the usage history, and in a casewhere the acquired user identifier and the identified user identifierare different, information indicating that the battery packcorresponding to the acquired battery identifier has been mounted to thedevice corresponding to the acquired device identifier is displayed atthe monitor of the display device associated with the identified useridentifier.

Accordingly, when a battery pack is mounted to a device, and the batterypack had been mounted by a different user at generally the samepoint-in-time of a day different to the day at which the battery packhas been mounted, the different user is notified that the battery packhas been mounted to the device, so the user who is routinely using thebattery pack can be notified that a user other than the user who isroutinely using the battery pack has used the battery pack.

The information displaying method may further include: furtheracquiring, upon the battery pack being mounted to the device, a batteryidentifier to identify the battery pack, a device identifier to identifythe device to which the battery pack has been mounted, a user identifierto identify a user that has mounted the battery pack, and date-and-timeinformation indicating the date and time that the battery pack wasmounted; storing the battery identifier, the device identifier, the useridentifier, and the date-and-time information, that have been acquired,as usage history; identifying the user using the battery pack, andidentifying a timing at which to charge the battery pack, based on theusage history; and causing a monitor of a display device to display thetiming at which to charge the battery pack at a display deviceassociated with the identified user.

In this case, upon the battery pack being mounted to the device, theuser identifier to identify the user that has mounted the battery pack,and date-and-time information indicating the date and time that thebattery pack was mounted, are further acquired. The battery identifier,the device identifier, the user identifier, and the date-and-timeinformation, that have been acquired, are then stored as usage history.The user using the battery pack is identified and the timing at which tocharge the battery pack is identified, based on the usage history. Thetiming at which to charge the battery pack is then displayed at thedisplay device associated with the identified user. Accordingly, theuser routinely using the battery pack can be notified regarding when tocharge the battery pack.

The information displaying method may further include: storing a tablein which is correlated beforehand the battery pack, at least one deviceto which the battery pack is mounted, and a user using the battery pack;referencing the table, upon the battery pack being mounted to one of theplurality of devices, and determining whether or not the device to whichthe battery pack has been mounted is a device correlated with the userof the battery pack beforehand; and causing a monitor of a displaydevice to display, in a case where the device to which the battery packhas been mounted is not a device correlated with the user of the batterypack beforehand, information that the battery pack has not been mountedto a device that has been correlated with the battery pack beforehand.The battery pack may be connectable to a plurality of devices,

In this case, the battery pack is connectable to a plurality of devices.A table is stored in which is correlated beforehand the battery pack, atleast one device to which the battery pack is mounted, and a user usingthe battery pack. Upon the battery pack being mounted to one of theplurality of devices, the table is referenced and determination is maderegarding whether or not the device to which the battery pack has beenmounted is the device correlated with the user of the battery packbeforehand. In a case where the device to which the battery pack hasbeen mounted is not a device correlated with the user of the batterypack beforehand, information is displayed at the display deviceassociated with the user of the battery pack that the battery pack hasnot been mounted to a device that has been correlated with the batterypack beforehand.

Accordingly, in a case where a battery pack is mounted to a devicedifference from a device registered beforehand, the user of the batterypack is notified that the battery pack is not mounted to the deviceregistered beforehand, so the user routinely using the battery pack cantell that another user has used the battery pack.

The information displaying method may further include: acquiringposition information indicating a current position of the battery pack;and causing the monitor to display the acquired position information. Inthis case, position information indicating the current position of thebattery pack is displayed at the display device, so the user of thebattery pack can identify the current position of the battery pack andthe current position of the device to which the battery pack has beenmounted.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an informationdisplaying device displays information regarding a mounted state of abattery pack detachably mountable to a device. The informationdisplaying device includes: an acquirer that acquires a batteryidentifier to identify the battery pack associated with a display deviceand a device identifier to identify the device to which the battery packhas been mounted; and a controller that causes a monitor of the displaydevice to display information indicating that the battery packcorresponding to the acquired battery identifier has been mounted to thedevice corresponding to the acquired device identifier.

In this case, the battery identifier to identify the battery pack andthe device identifier to identify the device to which the battery packassociated with the display device has been mounted are acquired.Information indicating that the battery pack corresponding to theacquired battery identifier has been mounted to the device correspondingto the acquired device identifier is then displayed at the monitor ofthe display device.

Accordingly, which device the battery pack has been mounted to isnotified to the display device, so the user can comprehend the device towhich the battery pack has been mounted.

Note that an arrangement may be made where the battery identifier toidentify the battery pack and the device identifier to identify thedevice to which the battery pack has been mounted are acquired upon thebattery pack being mounted to the device.

A battery pack, detachably mountable to a device, includes: a detectorthat detects having been mounted to the device; an acquirer that, upondetection being made by the detector, acquires a battery identifier toidentify the battery pack and a device identifier to identify the deviceto which the battery pack has been mounted; and a transmitter thattransmits the battery identifier and the device identifier to anexternal device.

In this case, the detector detects having been mounted to the device,the acquirer acquires a battery identifier to identify the battery packand a device identifier to identify the device to which the battery packhas been mounted upon detection being made by the detector, and thetransmitter transmits the battery identifier and the device identifierto an external device. Accordingly, the external device can notify theuser to which device the battery pack has been mounted.

Overall Image of Service Provided

First an overall image of the service which the information managementsystem according to the present embodiment provides will be described.FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an overall image of service providedby a control system according to the present embodiment. The controlsystem includes a group 100, a data center operator 110, and a serviceprovider 120.

The group 100 is, for example, a corporation, an organization, a home,or the like; the scale thereof is irrelevant. The group 100 has multipledevices 101 including a device A, device B, and device C, a home gateway102, multiple battery packs 103, a distribution board 104, and a displaydevice 105. The multiple devices 101 include those which are capable ofconnecting to the Internet, (e.g., a smartphone, personal computer (PC),television set, etc.), and those which are incapable of connecting tothe Internet on their own (e.g., lighting, washing machine,refrigerator, etc.). There may be in the multiple devices 101 thosewhich are incapable of connecting to the Internet on their own but canbe connected to the Internet via the home gateway 102. A user 10 alsouses the multiple devices 101 within the group 100.

The devices A and B are devices which are used indoors, such as awashing machine, refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, or the like, for example,and the device C is a device which is used outdoors, such as a bicycle,automobile, or the like, for example.

The multiple battery packs 103 are mounted to multiple devices 101 orthe distribution board 104, thereby functioning as the power source forthe multiple devices 101 or the distribution board 104.

The distribution board 104 supplies electric power supplied from asystem power source to loads (multiple devices 101) provided in thebuilding. The system power source is an electric power providing systemwhich a power company provides. The distribution board 104 also chargesthe battery packs 103 that are mounted, and supplies power supplied fromthe battery packs 103 in time of power outage to the loads (devices101).

The display device 105 is a device having a display function. Thedisplay device 105 is, for example, a smartphone, a personal computer, atablet terminal, a cellular phone, a television, a home controller thatcontrols the devices disposed within the group 100, and so forth. Inother words, the display device 105 is an information terminal having adisplay (omitted from illustration).

The data center operator 110 includes the cloud server 111. The cloudserver 111 is a virtual server which collaborates with various devicesover the Internet. The cloud server 111 primarily manages massive data(big data) or the like that is difficult to handle with normal databasemanagement tools and the like. The data center operator 110 managesdata, manages the cloud server 111, and serves as an operator of a datacenter which performs the management. The service that the data centeroperator 110 provides will be described in detail later.

Now, the data center operator 110 is not restricted a company whichperforms just management of data and operating the cloud server 111. Forexample, In a case where a device manufacturer which develops andmanufactures one of the devices of the multiple devices 101 manages thedata or manages the cloud server 111 or the like, the devicemanufacturer serves as the data center operator 110, as illustrated inFIG. 1B. Also, the data center operator 110 is not restricted to being asingle company. For example, in a case where a device manufacturer and amanagement company manage data or manage the cloud server 111 eitherconjointly or in shared manner, as illustrated in FIG. 1C, both, or oneor the other, serve as the data center operator 110.

The service provider 120 includes the server 121. The scale of theserver 121 here is irrelevant, and also includes memory or the like in aPC used by an individual, for example. Further, there may be cases wherethe service provider 120 does not include a server 121.

Note that the home gateway 102 is not indispensable to theabove-described service. For example, in a case where the cloud server111 performs all data management, the home gateway 102 is not needed.Also, there are cases where there are no devices which cannot connect tothe Internet by themselves, such as a case where all devices in the homeare connected to the Internet. Note that the display device 105 may beone of the devices 101.

Next, The flow of information in the above service will be described.The device A and the device B in the group 100 each transmit loginformation to the cloud server 111 of the data center operator 110. Thecloud server 111 collects log information from the device A and device B(arrow 131 in FIG. 1A). Here, log information is information indicatingthe operating state of the multiple devices 101 for example, date andtime of operation, and so forth. For example, log information includestelevision viewing history, recorder programming information, date andtime of the washing machine running, amount of laundry, date and time ofthe refrigerator door opening and closing, number of times of therefrigerator door opening and closing, and so forth, but is notrestricted to these, and various types of information which can beacquired from the various types of devices may be included. The loginformation may be directly provided to the cloud server 111 from themultiple devices 101 themselves over the Internet. Alternatively, thelog information may be temporarily collected from the devices 101 to thehome gateway 102, and be provided from the home gateway 102 to the cloudserver 111.

Also, the cloud server 111 collects log information from each of themultiple battery packs 103 (arrow 131 in FIG. 1A). Here, log informationis information includes battery identifiers for identifying the batterypacks and device identifiers for identifying the devices to which thebattery packs are mounted. The log information may be directly providedto the cloud server 111 from the multiple battery packs 103 themselvesover the Internet. Alternatively, the log information may be temporarilycollected from the multiple battery packs 103 to the home gateway 102,and be provided from the home gateway 102 to the cloud server 111.Further, the log information may be output from the battery packs 103 tothe devices 101 to which the battery packs 103 are mounted, and providedfrom the devices 101 to the cloud server 111.

Next, the cloud server 111 of the data center operator 110 provides thecollected log information to the service provider 120 in certainincrements. The certain increment here may be an increment in which thedata center operator 110 can organize the collected information andprovide to the service provider 120, or may be in increments requestedby the service provider 120. Also, the log information has beendescribed as being provided in certain increments, but the amount ofinformation of the log information may change according to conditions,rather than being provided in certain increments. The log information issaved in the server 121 which the service provider 120 has, as necessary(arrow 132 in FIG. 1A)

The service provider 120 then organizes the log information intoinformation suitable for the service to be provided to the user, andprovides to the user. The user to which the information is to beprovided may be the user 10 who uses the multiple devices 101, or may bean external user 20. An example of a way to provide information to theusers 10 and 20 may be to directly provide information from the serviceprovider 120 to the users 10 and 20 (arrows 133 and 134 in FIG. 1A).Also, an example of a way to provide information to the user 10 may beto route the information to the user 10 through the cloud server 111 ofthe data center operator 110 again (arrows 135 and 136 in FIG. 1A).Alternatively, the cloud server 111 of the data center operator 110 mayorganize the log information into information suitable for the serviceto be provided to the user, and provide to the service provider 120.Also, the user 10 may be different from the user 20 or may be the same.

The overall image of the service is the same in each of the embodimentsdescribed below, so the embodiments will be described using the samereference numerals. Note that the embodiments described below are allspecific examples of the present disclosure. Values, shapes, components,steps, orders of steps, and so forth in the following embodiments areonly exemplary, and do not restrict the present disclosure. Componentsin the following embodiments which are not included in an independentClaim indicating the highest concept are described as being optionalcomponents. Also, in all of the embodiments the contents of each can becombined.

First Embodiment

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of aninformation providing system according to a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure. Upon being mounted to one of the devices 101, eachof the multiple battery packs 103 transmit log information to the cloudserver 111 (or server 121) situated on the network. Also, upon beingmounted to the distribution board 104, each of the multiple batterypacks 103 transmit log information to the cloud server 111 (or server121) situated on the network.

Note that the multiple devices are each of different types. Even if thedevices which are of different types are of the same types, devices withdifferent model Nos. or different shapes are included.

Upon a battery pack 103 being mounted to one of the multiple devices101, the cloud server 111 (or server 121) acquires log informationincluding a battery identifier for identifying the battery pack 103, anda device identifier for identifying the device to which the battery pack103 has been mounted. The cloud server 111 (or server 121) effectscontrol such that information, indicating that the battery packcorresponding to the acquired battery identifier is mounted to thedevice corresponding to the acquired device identifier, is displayed onthe display device 105 associated with the battery identifier.

The display device 105 displays information indicating that the batterypack corresponding to the battery identifier has been mounted to thedevice corresponding to the acquired device identifier.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of theinformation providing system according to the first embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The information providing system includes the device101, battery pack 103, distribution board 104, display device 105, andcloud server 111, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The device 101 illustratesone device of the multiple devices, and the battery pack 103 illustratesone battery pack of the multiple battery packs. The device 101 includesa connection terminal 201, a communication unit 202, a control unit 203,and a storage unit 204.

The connection terminal 201 is a connection terminal for connecting tothe battery pack 103. Electric power is supplied from the battery pack103 via the connection terminal 201. The device 101 is provided with anaccommodation portion (omitted from illustration) to accommodate thebattery pack 103. Mounting the battery pack 103 to the accommodationportion mechanically and electrically connects a connection terminal 212of the battery pack 103 and the connection terminal 201 of the device101.

The communication unit 202 transmits information to the cloud server 111via the network, and receives information from the cloud server 111 viathe network. The communication unit 202 also transmits information tothe battery pack 103 via the network, and receives information from thebattery pack 103 via the network. The network between the communicationunit 202 and the cloud server 111 may be the same as the network betweenthe communication unit 202 and the battery pack 103, or may bedifferent. The network between the communication unit 202 and the cloudserver 111 is, for example, the Internet. The network between thecommunication unit 202 and the battery pack 103 is, for example, theInternet or a wireless local area network (LAN). The communication unit202 may communicate with the battery pack 103 via the connectionterminal 201. Note that the device 101 does not have to have thecommunication unit 202.

The control unit 203 is configured as a central processing unit (CPU)for example, and controls the overall device 101.

The storage unit 204 stores the device identifier for identifying thedevice 101 beforehand. Note that the storage unit 204 may store loginformation of the device 101.

Note that the configurations included in the device 101 are notrestricted to the connection terminal 201, communication unit 202,control unit 203, and storage unit 204 alone. The device 101 furtherincludes configurations to realize its primary functions.

The battery pack 103 includes a battery 211, the connection terminal212, a charging circuit 213, a discharging circuit 214, a control unit215, a communication unit 216, a storage unit 217, and a mounted statedetecting unit 218.

The battery 211 is configured as a lithium-ion secondary battery, forexample, and stores electricity.

The connection terminal 212 is a connection terminal to connect to thedevice 101 or the distribution board 104. In a case where the battery211 is discharged, electric power is supplied to the device 101 or thedistribution board 104 via the connection terminal 212. Also, in a casewhere the battery 211 is charged, electric power is supplied from thedistribution board 104 via the connection terminal 212.

The mounted state detecting unit 218 detects that the battery pack 103has been mounted to the device 101 or the distribution board 104. Thatis to say, the mounted state detecting unit 218 physically orelectrically detects that the connection terminal 212 of the batterypack 103 and the connection terminal 201 of the device 101 or aconnection terminal 221 of the distribution board 104 have come intocontact. The mounted state detecting unit 218 also detects that thebattery pack 103 has been dismounted from the device 101 or thedistribution board 104. That is to say, the mounted state detecting unit218 physically or electrically detects that the connection terminal 212of the battery pack 103 and the connection terminal 201 of the device101 or the connection terminal 221 of the distribution board 104 havebeen separated.

The charging circuit 213 charges the battery 211 using electric powerinput via the connection terminal 212.

The discharging circuit 214 outputs electric power discharged from thebattery 211.

The control unit 215 is configured as a CPU, for example, and controlsthe overall battery pack 103.

The communication unit 216 transmits information to the cloud server 111via the network, and also receives information from the cloud server 111via the network. The communication unit 216 also transmits informationto the device 101 via the network, and also receives information fromthe battery pack 103 via the network. The network between thecommunication unit 216 and the cloud server 111 may be the same as thenetwork between the communication unit 216 and the device 101, or may bedifferent. The network between the communication unit 216 and the cloudserver 111 is, for example, the Internet. The network between thecommunication unit 216 and the device 101 is, for example, the Internetor a wireless LAN. The communication unit 216 may communicate with thedevice 101 via the connection terminal 212.

The storage unit 217 stores a battery identifier for identifying thebattery pack 103 beforehand.

The distribution board 104 includes the connection terminal 221, acontrol unit 222, a power supply unit 223, a communication unit 224, anda storage unit 225.

The connection terminal 221 is a connection terminal to connect to thebattery pack 103. Electric power is supplied from the battery pack 103via the connection terminal 221. The distribution board 104 is providedwith an accommodation portion (omitted from illustration) to accommodatethe battery pack 103. Mounting the battery pack 103 to the accommodationportion mechanically and electrically connects the connection terminal212 of the battery pack 103 and the connection terminal 221 of thedistribution board 104. Note that the number of battery packs 103mounted to the distribution board 104 is not restricted to one; multiplebattery packs 103 may be mounted to the distribution board 104.

The control unit 222 is configured as a CPU for example, and controlsthe overall distribution board 104.

The power supply unit 223 supplies electric power from the system powersource to loads (multiple devices 101) provided to the building. In acase of charging the battery pack 103, the power supply unit 223supplies electric power to the battery pack 103. In a case where noelectric power is supplied from the system power source during a poweroutage, for example, the power supply unit 223 switches the supplysource of power from the system power source to the battery pack 103,and supplies power from the battery pack 103 to the loads (multipledevices 101) provided to the building.

Note that in a case where power is not supplied from the system powersource, the power supply unit 223 does not have to supply power from thebattery pack 103 to all devices 101; power may be supplied from thebattery pack 103 only to devices 101 to which power should be constantlysupplied. An example of a device 101 to which power should be constantlysupplied is a refrigerator.

The communication unit 224 transmits information to the cloud server 111via the network, and receives information from the cloud server 111 viathe network. The communication unit 224 also transmits information tothe battery pack 103 via the network, and receives information from thebattery pack 103 via the network. The network between the communicationunit 224 and the cloud server 111 may be the same as the network betweenthe communication unit 224 and the battery pack 103, or may bedifferent. The network between the communication unit 224 and the cloudserver 111 is, for example, the Internet. The network between thecommunication unit 224 and the battery pack 103 is, for example, theInternet or a wireless local area network (LAN). The communication unit224 may communicate with the battery pack 103 via the connectionterminal 221. Note that the distribution board 104 does not have to havethe communication unit 224.

The storage unit 225 stores a device identifier for identifying thedistribution board 104 beforehand.

The display device 105 includes a control unit 251, a communication unit252, memory 253, a speaker 254, a microphone 255, a monitor 256, and aninput unit 257.

The control unit 251 is configured as a CPU, for example, and controlsthe overall display device 105.

The communication unit 252 transmits information to the cloud server 111via the network, and receives information from the cloud server 111 viathe network. The network between the communication unit 252 and thecloud server 111 is, for example, the Internet.

The memory 253 stores various types of information. The speaker 254outputs audio. The microphone 255 acquires audio. The monitor 256 isconfigured as a liquid crystal display device, for example, and displaysvarious types of information. The input unit 257 accepts input from theuser. Note that the display device 105 does not have to have the memory253, speaker 254, microphone 255, and input unit 257.

The cloud server 111 includes a control unit 231, a communication unit232, and a storage unit 233.

The control unit 231 is configured as a CPU, for example, and controlsthe overall cloud server 111.

The communication unit 232 transmits information to the device 101,battery pack 103, distribution board 104, and display device 105 via thenetwork, and receives information from the device 101, battery pack 103,distribution board 104, and display device 105 via the network. Thenetwork between the communication unit 232 and the device 101, batterypack 103, distribution board 104, and display device 105 is, forexample, the Internet. The storage unit 233 stores log informationtransmitted by the device 101 and log information transmitted by thebattery pack 103.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of abattery pack, display device, and cloud server according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure. The battery pack 103 includes amounted state detection unit 301, an identifier acquisition unit 302,and a log information transmission unit 303. Note that the mounted statedetecting unit 218 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes the mounted statedetection unit 301, the control unit 215 illustrated in FIG. 3 includesthe identifier acquisition unit 302, and the communication unit 216illustrated in FIG. 3 includes the log information transmission unit303. Configurations which are the same as the configurations in FIG. 3are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof willbe omitted.

The identifier acquisition unit 302 acquires, from the device 101mounted to the battery pack 103, the device identifier for identifyingthe device 101, and also acquires the battery identifier for identifyingthe battery pack 103.

The log information transmission unit 303 transmits the deviceidentifier and battery identifier, acquired by the identifieracquisition unit 302, to the cloud server 111. Note that the loginformation may include, in addition to the device identifier andbattery identifier, a user household identifier for identifying thehousehold of the user, a mounted state indicating whether the batterypack 103 is mounted or detached, and date-and-time informationindicating the date and time that the battery pack 103 was mounted ordetached. The user household identifier is stored in the storage unit217 of the battery pack 103 beforehand, with the mounting state beingdetected by the mounted state detection unit 301 and the date-and-timeinformation being acquired from a clock unit (omitted from illustration)upon the battery pack 103 being mounted or detached. The mounting stateand the date-and-time information are also stored in the storage unit217. That is to say, the log information transmitted from the loginformation transmission unit 303 is stored in the storage unit 217.

The cloud server 111 includes a log information reception unit 401, abattery pack management database 402, a mounted device identifying unit403, a mounted battery identifying unit 404, an object display deviceselecting unit 405, a display information generating unit 406, and adisplay information transmission unit 407. Note that the communicationunit 232 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes the log information receptionunit 401 and the display information transmission unit 407, the storageunit 233 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes the battery pack managementdatabase 402, and the control unit 231 illustrated in FIG. 3 includesthe mounted device identifying unit 403, mounted battery identifyingunit 404, object display device selecting unit 405, and displayinformation generating unit 406.

The log information reception unit 401 receives the log informationtransmitted from the battery pack 103. Upon the battery pack 103 havingbeen mounted to one of the multiple devices, the log informationreception unit 401 acquire the battery identifier for identifying thebattery pack 103 and the device identifier for identifying the device towhich the battery pack 103 has been mounted.

The battery pack management database 402 stores the device identifierand battery identifier included in the log information received by thelog information reception unit 401 in increments of user households(groups).

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in thebattery pack management database according to the present firstembodiment. The battery pack management database 402 stores a batterypack ID (battery identifier), device ID (device identifier), mountedstate, and date-and-time information, correlated with a user householdID (user household identifier). For example, it can be understood thatin a household corresponding to user household ID “0XX168”, a batterypack corresponding to battery pack ID “1” has been mounted to a devicecorresponding to device ID “XX01”, at 58 minutes past 10 o'clock on Dec.17, 2013. Note that the user household ID (user household identifier)may be included in the received log information. The storage unit 233may also store beforehand a table in which are correlated the batterypack ID (battery identifier) or device ID (device identifier) and theuser household ID (user household identifier). The log informationreception unit 401 may acquire the user household ID corresponding tothe battery pack ID or device ID included in the received loginformation from the table, and store this in the battery packmanagement database 402.

The mounted device identifying unit 403 identifies the device 101 towhich the battery pack 103 has been mounted. The mounted batteryidentifying unit 404 identifies the battery pack 103 which has beenmounted to the device 101.

The object display device selecting unit 405 selects a display deviceassociated with the battery pack ID. That is to say, the storage unit233 stores beforehand a table associating battery pack IDs and displaydevices 105. The object display device selecting unit 405 acquire thedisplay device 105 corresponding to the battery pack ID included in thereceived log information from the table.

Note that the storage unit 233 may store beforehand the tableassociating device IDs and display devices 105. The object displaydevice selecting unit 405 may acquire the display device 105corresponding to the device ID included in the received log informationfrom the table.

The display information generating unit 406 generates displayinformation to be displayed on the display device 105, indicating thatthe battery pack corresponding to the acquired battery identifier hasbeen mounted to the device corresponding to the acquired deviceidentifier.

The display information transmission unit 407 transmits displayinformation generated by the display information generating unit 406 tothe display device 105 selected by the object display device selectingunit 405. Accordingly, the display information transmission unit 407controls the display device 105 associated to the battery identifier todisplay the information indicating that the battery pack correspondingto the acquired battery identifier has been mounted to the devicecorresponding to the acquired device identifier. Also, upon the batterypack 103 being mounted to one of the multiple devices, the displayinformation transmission unit 407 controls the display device 105associated to the battery identifier to display information indicatingthat the battery pack corresponding to the acquired battery identifierhas been mounted to the device corresponding to the acquired deviceidentifier.

The display device 105 includes display information reception unit 501and information display unit 502. The display information reception unit501 receives display information transmitted from the cloud server 111.The information display unit 502 displays the display informationreceived by the display information reception unit 501 on the monitor256.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operations of theinformation providing system according to the first embodiment of thepresent disclosure. First, in step S1, the mounted state detection unit301 of the battery pack 103 detects that the battery pack 103 has beenmounted to the device 101. The mounted state detection unit 301 detectsthat it has been mounted to the device 101 as follows, for example. Uponthe battery pack 103 being mounted to the device 101, electric power issupplied from the battery pack 103 to the control unit 203 of the device101. The control unit 203 of the device 101 raises the voltage on thecommunication line between the battery pack 103 and itself to apredetermined voltage or higher, to enable communication with thebattery pack 103 via the communication unit 202. The battery pack 103detects that normal connection to the device 101 has been made, based onthis signal (the raised voltage). Note that the above-described is oneexample, and the method by which the mounted state detection unit 301detects being mounted to the device 101 is not restricted to the abovemethod.

Next, in step S2, the identifier acquisition unit 302 of the batterypack 103 transmits a request signal to the device 101 to which it hasbeen mounted, requesting a device identifier. The communication unit 202of the device 101 receives the request signal transmitted from thebattery pack 103.

Next, in step S3, the control unit 203 of the device 101 reads out thedevice identifier from the storage unit 204, and transmits it to thebattery pack 103 via the communication unit 202. The communication unit216 of the battery pack 103 receives the device identifier transmittedfrom the device 101.

Next, in step S4, the identifier acquisition unit 302 of the batterypack 103 acquires the device identifier received by the communicationunit 216, and also acquires the battery identifier stored in the storageunit 217.

Next, in step S5, the log information transmission unit 303 of thebattery pack 103 generates log information including the deviceidentifier and battery identifier acquired by the identifier acquisitionunit 302, and transmits the generated log information to the cloudserver 111. The log information reception unit 401 of the cloud server111 receives the log information transmitted from the battery pack 103.

Next, in step S6, the mounted device identifying unit 403 of the cloudserver 111 identifies the device 101 to which the battery pack 103 hasbeen mounted, based on the device identifier included in the loginformation received by the log information reception unit 401.

Next, in step S7, the mounted battery identifying unit 404 of the cloudserver 111 identifies the battery pack 103 which has been mounted to thedevice 101, based on the battery identifier included in the loginformation received by the log information reception unit 401.

Next, in step S8, based on the battery identifier included in the loginformation received by the log information reception unit 401, theobject display device selecting unit 405 of the cloud server 111 selectsa display device associated with this battery identifier. Note that thenumber of display devices associated with one battery identifier is notrestricted to one; multiple display devices may be associated with onebattery identifier.

Next, in step S9, the display information generating unit 406 of thecloud server 111 generates display information for notifying that thebattery pack identified by the mounted battery identifying unit 404 ismounted to the device identified by the mounted device identifying unit403.

Next, in step S10, the display information transmission unit 407 of thecloud server 111 transmits the display information generated by thedisplay information generating unit 406 to the display device 105selected by the object display device selecting unit 405. The displayinformation reception unit 501 of the display device 105 receive thedisplay information transmitted from the cloud server 111.

Next, in step S11, the information display unit 502 of the displaydevice 105 displays the display information received by the displayinformation reception unit 501 on the monitor 256.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationdisplayed on a monitor of the display device in the present firstembodiment. Based on the device identifier included in the loginformation, the mounted device identifying unit 403 identifies thedevice 101 to which the battery pack 103 has been mounted to be anautomobile. Also, based on the battery identifier included in the loginformation, the mounted battery identifying unit 404 identifies thebattery pack 103 mounted to the device 101 to be battery pack No. 7. Asa result, the display information generating unit 406 generates displayinformation to the effect that “BATTERY PACK NO. 07 HAS BEEN MOUNTED TOAUTOMOBILE”.

The information display unit 502 of the display device 105 then displaysthis display information 601 “BATTERY PACK NO. 07 HAS BEEN MOUNTED TOAUTOMOBILE” on the monitor 256.

Although description is made in the present embodiment regarding a casewhere a battery pack is mounted to a device, the same operations asthose above are performed in a case where a battery pack is mounted tothe distribution board, as well. Also, although description is made inthe present embodiment regarding a case where a battery pack is mountedto a device, the same operations as those above are performed in a casewhere a battery pack is detached from the device, as well.

Although notification is made from the cloud server 111 to the displaydevice 105 that the battery pack has been mounted to the device ordistribution board at the timing that the battery pack is mounted to thedevice or distribution board in the present embodiment, notification ofthe mounting state of the battery pack may be made from the cloud server111 to the display device 105 at the timing of having received a requestto confirm the mounting state of the battery pack from the displaydevice.

Next, the information providing system according to a modification ofthe first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In theabove-described first embodiment, upon a battery pack having beenmounted to one of the multiple devices, the cloud server 111 controlsthe display device associated with the battery identifier to displayinformation indicating that the battery pack corresponding to theacquired battery identifier is mounted to the device corresponding tothe acquired device identifier. Conversely, in the modification of thefirst embodiment, upon having received a request to display the mountingstate of a battery pack corresponding to a battery identifier associatedwith a display device, the cloud server 111 controls the display deviceassociated with the battery identifier to display information indicatingthat the battery pack corresponding to the acquired battery identifieris mounted to the device corresponding to the acquired deviceidentifier.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration ofthe battery pack, display device, and cloud server according to themodification of the first embodiment of the present disclosure. Notethat the hardware configuration of the information providing systemaccording to the modification of the first embodiment is the same as thehardware configuration of the information providing system of the firstembodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, so description will be omitted.Configurations which are the same as the battery pack, display device,and cloud server illustrated in FIG. 4 are denoted with the samereference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

The display device 105 includes the display information reception unit501, information display unit 502, and also an input accepting unit 503,and a display request transmission unit 504. Note that the input unit257 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes the input accepting unit 503, and thecommunication unit 252 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes the displayrequest transmission unit 504.

The input accepting unit 503 accepts input operations from the user, todisplay the mounted state of the battery pack corresponding to thebattery identifier associated with the display device 105. The displayrequest transmission unit 504 transmit a display request to display themounted state of the battery pack corresponding to the batteryidentifier associated with the display device 105, to the cloud server111.

The cloud server 111 includes the log information reception unit 401,battery pack management database 402, mounted device identifying unit403, mounted battery identifying unit 404, display informationgenerating unit 406, display information transmission unit 407, and alsoa display request reception unit 408 and a log information requesttransmission unit 409. The communication unit 232 illustrated in FIG. 3includes the display request reception unit 408 and log informationrequest transmission unit 409.

The display request reception unit 408 receive a display requesttransmitted from the display device 105. The mounted battery identifyingunit 404 acquires the battery identifier associated with the displaydevice 105 which has transmitted the display request, and identifies thebattery pack corresponding to the acquired battery identifier. Note thatthe display request includes a display device identifier to identify thedisplay device 105, and the storage unit 233 stores this display deviceidentifier in an associated manner with the battery identifier. Theassociation of the display device identifier with the battery identifieris set by the user beforehand.

The log information request transmission unit 409 transmits a loginformation request to acquire log information, to the battery pack 103identified by the mounted battery identifying unit 404. Note that thelog information includes at least the battery identifier and the mountedstate indicating whether or not the battery pack 103 is mounted to adevice. In a case where the battery pack 103 is connected to a device,the device identifier is also included.

The mounted device identifying unit 403 identifies the device 101 towhich the battery pack 103 is mounted, based on the device identifierincluded in the log information. The mounted device identifying unit 403also identifies all devices in the home to which battery packs can bemounted. The storage unit 233 of the cloud server 111 stores beforehanda table correlating battery packs to be displayed on the display device,with the multiple devices capable of mounting these battery packs, outof the multiple devices situated in the home of the user. The mounteddevice identifying unit 403 identifies the multiple devices 101correlated with the display device 105 that has transmitted to thedisplay request.

The display information generating unit 406 generates displayinformation for notification of the mounted state of the identifiedbattery pack. This display information includes information indicatingthe multiple devices to be displayed on the display device 105, andinformation relating to which of the multiple devices to be displayed onthe display device 105 that the battery pack to be displayed on thedisplay device 105 has been mounted to.

The battery pack 103 includes the mounted state detection unit 301,identifier acquisition unit 302, log information transmission unit 303,and also a log information request reception unit 304. Note that thecommunication unit 216 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes the loginformation request reception unit 304.

The log information request reception unit 304 receive log informationrequests transmitted from the cloud server 111. The log informationtransmission unit 303 acquires the log information, and transmits theacquired log information to the cloud server 111.

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operations of theinformation providing system according to the modification of the firstembodiment of the present disclosure. First, in step S21, the inputaccepting unit 503 of the display device 105 accepts input operations bythe user, to display the mounted state of the battery pack correspondingto the battery identifier associated with the display device 105.

Next, in step S22, the display request transmission unit 504 of thedisplay device 105 transmits a display request to display the mountedstate of the battery pack corresponding to the battery identifierassociated with the display device 105, to the cloud server 111. Thedisplay request reception unit 408 of the cloud server 111 receives thedisplay request transmitted from the display device 105.

Next, in step S23, the mounted battery identifying unit 404 of the cloudserver 111 acquires the battery identifiers associated with the displaydevice 105 which has transmitted the display request, and identifies thebattery packs corresponding to the acquired battery identifier. Threebattery identifiers are associated with the display device 105 which hastransmitted the display request, for example, the three batteryidentifiers corresponding to a first battery pack 103 a, a secondbattery pack 103 b, and a third battery pack 103 c, respectively.

Next, in step S24, the log information request transmission unit 409 ofthe cloud server 111 transmits a log information request to theidentified battery packs 103 (first battery pack 103 a, second batterypack 103 b, third battery pack 103 c), to acquire log information. Therespective log information request reception unit 304 of the firstbattery pack 103 a, second battery pack 103 b, and third battery pack103 c receive the log information request transmitted from the cloudserver 111.

Next, in step S25 the respective log information transmission unit 303of the first battery pack 103 a, second battery pack 103 b, and thirdbattery pack 103 c acquires log information. This log information hasbeen acquired at the time of mounting the battery pack, and stored inthe storage unit 217. The log information transmission unit 303 thusacquires the log information by reading out the log information from thestorage unit 217.

Note that the log information transmission unit 303 may have the mountedstate detection unit 301 to confirm whether or not connected to thedevice, at the time of receiving the log information request from thecloud server 111. If connected to the device, the identifier acquisitionunit 302 may acquire the device identifier from the device.

Next, in step S26, the respective log information transmission unit 303of the first battery pack 103 a, second battery pack 103 b, and thirdbattery pack 103 c transmit the acquired log information to the cloudserver 111. The log information reception unit 401 of the cloud server111 receives the log information transmitted from each of the firstbattery pack 103 a, second battery pack 103 b, and third battery pack103 c.

Next, in step S27, the mounted device identifying unit 403 of the cloudserver 111 identifies the devices 101 to which the first battery pack103 a, second battery pack 103 b, and third battery pack 103 c aremounted, based on the device identifier included in the received loginformation, and identify the multiple devices 101 correlated with thedisplay device 105 which has transmitted the display request. At thistime, not all of the multiple devices 101 correlated with the displaydevice 105 may necessarily have a battery pack mounted.

Next, in step S28, the display information generating unit 406 of thecloud server 111 generates display information for notification of themounted state of the identified battery packs. The display informationat this time includes information indicating the multiple devices to bedisplayed on the display device 105, and information relating to whichof the multiple devices to be displayed on the display device 105 thatthe battery packs to be displayed on the display device 105 have beenmounted to.

Next, in step S29, the display information transmission unit 407 of thecloud server 111 transmits the generated display information to thedisplay device 105 which has transmitted the display request. Thedisplay information reception unit 501 of the display device 105 receivethe display information transmitted from the cloud server 111.

Next, in step S30, the information display unit 502 of the displaydevice 105 displays the received display information on the monitor 256.Thus, when accepting a request to display the mounted state of batterypacks 103 corresponding to battery identifiers associated with a displaydevice 105, to devices 101, the cloud server 111 may control the displaydevice associated with the battery identifiers to display informationindicating that the battery packs corresponding to the acquired batteryidentifiers are mounted to device corresponding to the acquired deviceidentifiers. Thus, the user can confirm whether or not the battery packsare mounted to devices, and if mounted to devices, the user can confirmto which devices the battery packs are mounted.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationdisplayed on the monitor of the display device in the modification ofthe present first embodiment. For example, four battery packs areassociated with the display device 105, as well as four devices beingassociated therewith. The four battery packs are a battery pack No. 2, abattery pack No. 5, a battery pack No. 7, and a battery pack No. 8. Thefour devices are an automobile, a bicycle, a vacuum cleaner, and atoilet device.

The information display unit 502 of the display device 105 displays adevice image 1011 indicating the automobile, a device image 1012indicating the bicycle, a device image 1013 indicating the vacuumcleaner, and a device image 1014 indicating the toilet device. Theinformation display unit 502 also displays battery images 1031, 1032,1033, and 1034, indicating the mounted states of battery packs,superimposed on the device images 1011 and 1012. The battery images 1031and 1032 illustrated in FIG. 10 represent the battery pack No. 2 andbattery pack No. 7 respectively, and the battery images 1033 and 1034indicate that these battery packs are not mounted. Further, theinformation display unit 502 display battery images 1035 and 1036 at theperimeter of the device images 1013 and 1014, indicating the mountedstate of battery packs. The battery images 1035 and 1036 illustrated inFIG. 10 represent the battery pack No. 5 and battery pack No. 8,respectively.

The display screen illustrated in FIG. 10 further has displayedinformation 1051, 1052, 1053, and 1054, for identifying battery packscorresponding to battery identifiers. Each information 1051, 1052, 1053,and 1054 is a name for identifying each of the multiple battery packs inthe home, indicated by numbers such as “02” and “07”, for example. “02”represents battery pack No. 2, and “07” represents battery pack No. 7.

The control unit 231 of the cloud server 111 thus effects control sothat battery images (second image) indicating the mounted state ofbattery packs are disposed around device images (first image) indicatingdevices that have been mounted with battery packs. The control unit 231of the cloud server 111 also effects control so that the battery images(second image) indicating the mounted state of battery packs aredisposed superimposed on the device images (first image) indicatingdevices that have been mounted with battery packs. Thus, the user can bepresented with which battery packs have been mounted to which devices.

The control unit 231 of the cloud server 111 may, upon having received arequest from a certain display device to display the battery packmounted state of a certain device out of the multiple devices, acquireinformation relating to the number of battery packs that can be mountedto the certain device and the mounted state of the battery pack. Thecontrol unit 231 of the cloud server 111 may then, based on the acquiredinformation, display the number of battery packs that can be mounted tothe certain device in an identifiable manner, and also display a statein which a battery pack is mounted and a state in which a battery packis not mounted, in mutually different display forms. That is to say,three battery packs can be mounted to the device corresponding to thedevice image 1011 in FIG. 10, so three battery images 1031, 1032, and1033 are displayed. Further, two battery packs are mounted to the devicecorresponding to the device image 1011, the battery images 1031 and 1032are displayed indicating that the battery packs are mounted, and thebattery image 1033 is displayed indicating that the battery pack is notmounted. The battery images 1031 and 1032 are images representingbattery packs. The battery image 1033 is displayed by dashed lines,indicating that the battery pack is not mounted.

Also displayed along with battery images indicating that battery packsare mounted, is information for identifying the battery packs that havebeen mounted out of the multiple battery packs in the home. For example,information for identifying battery packs is displayed above the batteryimages representing the battery packs in FIG. 10, such as “02”corresponding to battery pack No. 2 being displayed above the batteryimage 1031. This allows which battery pack in the home is mounted towhich device to be easily comprehended.

Although the mounted state of battery packs corresponding to multipledevices to which battery packs can be mounted in the home is displayedin the present embodiment, the present disclosure is not restricted tothis in particular; an arrangement may be made where only which deviceshave been mounted with battery packs associated with the display deviceis displayed.

Although the cloud server 111 obtains log information from the batterypack 103 after having accepted a display request from the display device105 in the present embodiment, the present disclosure is not restrictedto this in particular. An arrangement may be made where the cloud server111 receives log information at the point of the battery pack 103 beingmounted to the device 101, with the received log information beingstored in the storage unit 233. The cloud server 111 may then read outthe log information stored in the storage unit 233 and generate displayinformation at the time of accepting the display request from thedisplay device 105.

Also, upon the user making a request to display the mounted state ofbattery packs 103 in the present embodiment, the display request istransmitted to the cloud server 111, log information is read out fromthe storage unit 233 of the cloud server 111, and display information isgenerated, but this is not restrictive.

An arrangement may be made where the display request is transmitted to abattery pack 103 associated with the display device, the display device105 acquires log information from the storage unit 217 of the batterypack 103, and acquires display information. The display information hereis not generated at the cloud server 111 but within the display device105. That is to say, the display device 105 has a display informationgenerating unit having functions the same as the display informationgenerating unit 406.

Although multiple devices associated with the display device beforehandare displayed in the present embodiment, with the state of mounting thebattery packs to the devices also being displayed, the presentdisclosure is not restricted to this in particular. The display requesttransmitted from the display device to the cloud server may includeinformation specifying a device regarding which the mounted state of abattery pack is to be displayed, and the specified device may bedisplayed along with display of the mounted state of the battery pack tothe specified device.

Further, although multiple devices associated with a display devicebeforehand are displayed in the present embodiment, the presentdisclosure is not restricted to this in particular; the user householdID and multiple devices may be associated beforehand, with all devicesassociated with the user household ID being displayed. In this case, thecloud server 111 may acquire information relating to the number ofbattery packs which can be mounted to each of all devices which acertain household has, and the mounted state of the battery packs, whenaccepting a request from a certain display device to display the mountedstate of battery packs of multiple devices which the certain householdhas. The cloud server 111 may then display the number of battery packswhich can be mounted to each of all devices which the certain householdhas, in an identifiable manner, and also display a state in which abattery pack is mounted and a state in which a battery pack is notmounted, in mutually different display forms.

The storage unit 233 of the cloud server 111 may also store a tablecorrelating beforehand battery packs, at least one device to which abattery pack is mounted, and a user using the battery pack. Upon abattery pack being mounted to one device of multiple devices, thecontrol unit 231 of the cloud server 111 may reference the table, anddetermine whether or not the device to which the battery pack has beenmounted is a device correlated with the user of the battery packbeforehand. Further, in a case where the device to which the batterypack has been mounted is not a device correlated with the user of thebattery pack beforehand, the control unit 231 of the cloud server 111may display on the display device, associated with the user of thebattery pack, information indicating that the battery pack is notmounted to a device correlated with the battery pack.

Accordingly, in a case where the battery pack is mounted to a deviceother than a device registered beforehand, the user of the battery packis notified that the battery pack is not mounted to a device registeredbeforehand, so the user who usually uses the battery pack can know thatsome other user has used the battery pack.

The battery pack 103 may also include a Global Positioning System (GPS)function (hereinafter simply “GPS”), and in a case where the batterypack is mounted to a device, current position information may beacquired from the GPS and the acquired current position informationtransmitted to the cloud server 111 included in the log information. Thecloud server 111 may control a display device 105 associated with abattery pack to display the current position information of the batterypack as current position information of the device to which the batterypack has been mounted. In this case, the current position of the batterypack is notified to the user at the time of a stolen battery pack beingmounted to a device by a person who has stolen the battery pack, so theuser of the battery pack can tell the current position of the stolenbattery pack.

The battery pack 103 may include a GPS, and may acquire current positioninformation from the GPS at a predetermined timing, and transmit theacquired current position information to the cloud server 111. The cloudserver 111 may control the display device 105 associated with thebattery pack to display the current position information of the batterypack. The cloud server 111 may control a display device 105 associatedwith the battery pack to display the current position information of thebattery pack as current position information of the device to which thebattery pack has been mounted.

In this case, the current position of the battery pack is notified tothe user as current position information in a case where a device tothis the battery pack has been mounted is stolen, so the user of thebattery pack can tell the current position of the stolen device.

Also, although the identifier acquisition unit 302 of the battery pack103 acquires the device identifier for identifying the device 101 fromthe device 101 to which the battery pack 103 is mounted in the presentembodiment, the present disclosure is not restricted to this inparticular. Upon detecting having been mounted to a device 101 by themounted state detection unit 301, the identifier acquisition unit 302may send a predetermined current to the device 101 and measure theresistance value, thereby identifying the device 101. In this case, theidentifier acquisition unit 302 may store resistance values and types ofthe devices 101 beforehand, and identify the type of the device 101based on the measured resistance value.

The multiple devices may be classified into three types of devices witha large load, devices with a medium load, and devices with a small load,according to the magnitude of the load. In this case, the identifieracquisition unit 302 of the battery pack 103 may identify whether whichof a devices with a large load, device with a medium load, or devicewith a small load, the device to which it has been mounted is, inaccordance with the measured resistance value.

Second Embodiment

In the first embodiment, which device a battery pack is mounted to isdisplayed. Conversely, a second embodiment not only displays whichdevice a battery pack is mounted to, but also displays the state ofcharge of the battery pack, the usage state, and the life expectancy.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration ofthe battery pack, display device, and cloud server according to a secondembodiment of the present disclosure. Note that the hardwareconfiguration of the information providing system according to thesecond embodiment is the same as the hardware configuration of theinformation providing system of the first embodiment illustrated in FIG.3, so description will be omitted. Configurations in FIG. 11 which arethe same as the battery pack, display device, and cloud server accordingto the modification of the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8 aredenoted with the same reference numerals, and description thereof willbe omitted.

The battery pack 103 includes the mounted state detection unit 301,identifier acquisition unit 302, log information transmission unit 303,log information request reception unit 304, and also a state of chargedetecting unit 305, a usage state detecting unit 306, and a lifeexpectancy detecting unit 307. Note that the control unit 215illustrated in FIG. 3 includes the state of charge detecting unit 305,usage state detecting unit 306, and life expectancy detecting unit 307.

The state of charge detecting unit 305 detects the state of charge,indicating the remaining amount of electricity stored in the battery 211of the battery pack 103. The usage state detecting unit 306 detects theusage state of the battery pack 103, indicating the usage period fromthe battery pack 103 having started being used up to the present. Notethat the storage unit 217 of the battery pack 103 stores the date onwhich usage of the battery pack 103 started. For example, the usagestate detecting unit 306 calculates the usage period from the date onwhich usage of the battery pack 103 started that is stored in thestorage unit 217.

The life expectancy detecting unit 307 estimates the life expectancy ofthe battery 211 that the battery pack 103 has. For example, the lifeexpectancy detecting unit 307 estimates the life expectancy of thebattery 211 using the charge/discharge cycle of the battery 211. Thestorage unit 217 of the battery pack 103 stores the charge/dischargecycle of the battery 211. Conventional art can be applied to the methodof estimating the life expectancy of a battery using thecharge/discharge cycle, so description will be omitted here.

The log information transmission unit 303 transmits to the cloud server111 log information including the device identifier and batteryidentifier acquired by the identifier acquisition unit 302, the state ofcharge detected by the state of charge detecting unit 305, the usagestate detected by the usage state detecting unit 306, and the lifeexpectancy of the battery 211 estimated by the life expectancy detectingunit 307. Note that the log information may further include a userhousehold identifier for identifying the user household,mounted/detached state indicating whether the battery pack 103 ismounted or detached, and date information indicating the data on whichthe battery pack 103 was mounted or detached.

Although the state of charge, usage state, and life expectancy istransmitted along with the device identifier and battery identifier atthe time of the battery pack 103 being mounted to the device 101 in thepresent embodiment, the present disclosure is not restricted to this inparticular; the state of charge, usage state, and life expectancy may betransmitted at a predetermined timing, such as daily, hourly, or thelike. Further, the log information transmission unit 303 may transmitlog information including the state of charge, usage state, and lifeexpectancy in response to a request from the display device 105.

The cloud server 111 includes the log information reception unit 401,battery pack management database 402, mounted device identifying unit403, mounted battery identifying unit 404, display informationgenerating unit 406, display information transmission unit 407, displayrequest reception unit, 408 and log information request transmissionunit 409.

The battery pack management database 402 stores the device identifier,battery identifier, state of charge, usage state, and life expectancyincluded in the log information received by the log informationreception unit 401, for each user.

The display information generating unit 406 generates informationindicating the multiple devices to be displayed at the display device105, and display information including information relating to which ofthe multiple device to be displayed on the display device 105 that thebattery packs to be displayed on the display device 105 are mounted to.The display information generating unit 406 also generates displayinformation including information relating to battery packs, in responseto a display request from the display device 105. The informationrelating to battery packs includes the state of charge, usage state, andlife expectancy.

The display device 105 includes the display information reception unit501, information display unit 502, input accepting unit 503, and displayrequest transmission unit 504.

The input accepting unit 503 accepts instructions to display informationrelating to battery packs, by user input operations. The display requesttransmission unit 504 transmits display requests to display informationrelating to battery packs to the cloud server 111.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationdisplayed on the monitor of the display device in the present secondembodiment. The display screen displayed in the present secondembodiment as illustrated in FIG. 12 is almost the same as the displayscreen according to the first modification illustrated in FIG. 10. Notehowever, that the display screen illustrated in FIG. 12 displays thebattery images 1031, 1032, 1035, and 1036, indicating that the batterypacks have been mounted, and also state of charge images 1041, 1042,1043, and 1044, indicating the states of charge of the battery packs.The display information generating unit 406 of the cloud server 111generates the display information including the states of charge of thebattery packs. The states of charge are represented by bar graphscorresponding to the remaining charge in the batteries, as illustratedin FIG. 12.

The display screen illustrated in FIG. 12 further has displayed theinformation 1051, 1052, 1053, and 1054, for identifying battery packscorresponding to battery identifiers. Each information 1051, 1052, 1053,and 1054 is a name for identifying each of the multiple battery packs inthe home, indicated by numbers such as “02” and “07”, for example. “02”represents battery pack No. 2, and “07” represents battery pack No. 7.

The cloud server 111 thus acquires the battery identifiers of allbattery packs mounted to a certain device, and the remaining charge ofthe battery which each battery pack has, when accepting a request fromthe certain device to display the mounting state of the battery packs ofthe certain device out of the multiple devices. The cloud server 111then effects control so as to display information for identifying thebattery packs corresponding to the acquired battery identifiers, and theremaining charge of the battery packs corresponding to the acquiredbattery identifiers.

The monitor 256 is configured as a touch panel, with battery images1031, 1032, 1035, and 1036, representing the battery packs, beingselectably displayed. When a finger 11 of the user touches one of thebattery images 1031, 1032, 1035, and 1036, information relating to thebattery pack corresponding to the touched battery image is displayed.

The input accepting unit 503 accepts input of the battery images 1031,1032, 1035, and 1036, from the user. The display request transmissionunit 504 transmit to the cloud server 111 a display request to displayinformation relating to the battery pack corresponding to the batteryimage which the user has selected. The display information generatingunit 406 generate display information including information relating tothe battery pack, in response to the display request from the displaydevice 105.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding information relating to the battery pack selected by the user,according to the present second embodiment. In a case where the batteryimage 1031 illustrated in FIG. 12 is selected, the display informationillustrated in FIG. 13 is displayed on the monitor 256 of the displaydevice 105.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the display information includes information2011 for identifying the battery pack, information 2012 relating to theusage period of the battery pack, information 2013 relating to the lifeexpectancy of the battery pack, information 2014 relating to whether ornot there is abnormality or deterioration of the battery pack,information 2015 relating to usage history of the battery pack, andinformation 2016 relating to the state of charge of the battery pack.

The information 2011 represents which battery pack of the multiplebattery packs in the home the information relates to. In FIG. 13,“BATTERY NO. 2” is displayed for the information 2011. The information2012 represents the usage period of the battery pack. In FIG. 13, “1YEAR 6 MONTHS” is displayed for the information 2012. The information2013 represents the life expectance of the battery pack. In FIG. 13,“REMAINING LIFE EXPECTANCY 1 YEAR” is displayed for the information2013.

The information 2014 represents whether or not the battery pack is in anabnormal state or a deteriorated state. The battery pack is in neitheran abnormal state nor a deteriorated state in FIG. 13, so“ABNORMALITY/DETERIORATION: NONE” is displayed as the information 2014.In a case where the battery pack is in an abnormal state or adeteriorated state, “ABNORMALITY/DETERIORATION: PRESENT” is displayed asthe information 2014. Information regarding whether or not the batterypack is in an abnormal state or a deteriorated state is included in thelog information.

The information 2015 represents the usage history of the battery pack,and indicates how many times the battery pack has been used by eachdevice. In FIG. 13, “HYBRID CAR: 34 TIMES”, “BICYCLE: 12 TIMES”, and“CLEANER: 1 TIME” are displayed as the information 2015. Display mayalso be made regarding how many hours the battery pack has been used byeach device, not just the number of times of use of the battery pack.

Information 2016 represents the state of charge of the battery pack. InFIG. 13, a bar graph indicates the remaining charge in the battery asthe information 2016.

In this way, information relating to the battery pack is displayed, suchas the information 2012 relating to the usage period of the batterypack, information 2013 relating to the life expectancy of the batterypack, information 2014 relating to whether or not there is abnormalityor deterioration of the battery pack, information 2015 relating to usagehistory of the battery pack, and information 2016 relating to the stateof charge of the battery pack. Accordingly, the user can easily confirmthe current state of the battery pack. Note that in the secondembodiment, the cloud server 111 may effect control so as to displayadvertisement information, to prompt the user to purchase a replacementbattery pack.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding advertisement information to prompt the user to purchase areplacement battery pack, according to the present second embodiment. Ina case where the battery image 1031 illustrated in FIG. 12 has beenselected, the display information illustrated in FIG. 14 is displayed onthe monitor 256 of the display device 105.

The display screen displayed in FIG. 14 is almost the same as thecontent of the display screen illustrated in FIG. 13. Note however, thatthe display screen illustrated in FIG. 14 includes advertisementinformation 2017 to prompt the user to purchase a replacement batterypack. In a case where the life expectancy is within one year, forexample, the display information generating unit 406 of the cloud server111 generates display information including the advertisementinformation 2017. In this case, the storage unit 233 of the cloud server111 stores a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), indicating a Web site of avendor vending battery packs, beforehand.

The advertisement information 2017 includes hypertext for displaying theWeb site of the vendor vending battery packs, and is displayedsuperimposed on information relating to the battery pack. Upon thefinger 11 of the user coming into contact with the advertisementinformation 2017 in FIG. 14, the Web site of the vendor vending batterypacks is displayed.

Note that the display device 105 may transmit position informationacquired by GPS to the cloud server 111, and the cloud server 111 maysearch for a vendor nearby the display device 105 based on the receivedposition information, and effect control so as to display a vendor thathas been found as the advertisement information 2017.

Thus, advertisement information 2017 to prompt the user to purchase areplacement battery pack is displayed in accordance with the lifeexpectancy of the battery pack, so the user can purchase a replacementbattery pack before the battery pack becomes unusable.

Also, the information relating to the battery pack in the present secondembodiment may include devices which can operate in a case where thecurrent battery pack is mounted. The internal resistance of batteriesincases by repeated charging and discharging. In a case where a batteryof which the internal resistance has increased is used in a devicerequiring a larger current, such as an automobile or the like, thevoltage of the battery drops. If the voltage of the battery falls to orbelow a cutoff voltage of the device, the device stops operating.Accordingly, a battery of which the internal resistance has increaseddue to deterioration may not be usable with a large current load device.Accordingly, the cloud server 111 effects control so as to displayinformation indicating devices which can operate if the current batterypack is mounted.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding information of devices which can be operated in a case ofmounting the current battery pack, according to the present secondembodiment. The content of the display information illustrated in FIG.15 is almost the same as the content of the display informationillustrated in FIG. 13. Note however, that the display screenillustrated in FIG. 15 includes information 2121 indicating deviceswhich can operate in a case of the current battery pack being mounted.The storage unit 233 of the cloud server 111 stores beforehand a tablecorrelating devices and the number of times of charging/dischargingwhich will render the battery pack unusable in the device, for eachbattery pack. The display information generating unit 406 of the cloudserver 111 identifies devices which can be operated in a case ofmounting the current battery pack, based on the number of times ofcharging/discharging acquired from the battery pack, and generatesdisplay information including the information 2121 indicating theidentified devices.

Thus, devices which can operate in a case of mounting the currentbattery pack are displayed, so the user can identify which devices thebattery pack can be mounted to. Also, the cloud server 111 may effectcontrol so as to display information indicating devices which canoperate if the current battery pack is mounted, and informationindicating devices which will not operate if the current battery pack ismounted.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding information of devices which can be operated in a case ofmounting the current battery pack, and information indicating deviceswhich will not operate if the current battery pack is mounted, accordingto the present second embodiment. The content of the display informationillustrated in FIG. 16 is almost the same as the content of the displayinformation illustrated in FIG. 13. Note however, that the displayscreen illustrated in FIG. 16 includes information 2122 indicatingdevices which can operate in a case of the current battery pack beingmounted and devices which cannot be operated if the current battery packis mounted. The storage unit 233 of the cloud server 111 storesbeforehand a table correlating devices and the number of times ofcharging/discharging which will render the battery pack unusable in thedevice, for each battery pack. The display information generating unit406 of the cloud server 111 identifies devices which can be operated ina case of mounting the current battery pack, based on the number oftimes of charging/discharging acquired from the battery pack, andgenerates display information including the information 2122 indicatingdevices which can operate in a case of the current battery pack beingmounted and devices which cannot be operated if the current battery packis mounted.

The devices which can operate in a case of the current battery packbeing mounted and the devices which cannot be operated if the currentbattery pack is mounted are displayed in different forms from eachother, as illustrated in FIG. 16. Devices which can operate in a case ofthe current battery pack being mounted are displayed with an imagerepresenting that device. Devices which cannot be operated if thecurrent battery pack is mounted are displayed with a mark indicatingunusable superimposed over an image representing that device.

Thus, devices which can operate in a case of mounting the currentbattery pack and devices which cannot be operated if the current batterypack is mounted are displayed, so the user can easily identify whichdevices cannot be operated if the current battery pack is mounted, andthus can mount appropriate battery packs to each device. The cloudserver 111 may also effect control so as to display an operating buttonto control operation of the battery pack.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding an operating button for controlling a battery pack selected bythe user, according to the present second embodiment. In a case wherethe battery image 1031 illustrated in FIG. 12 is selected, the displayinformation illustrated in FIG. 17 is displayed on the monitor 256 ofthe display device 105. As illustrated in FIG. 17, the displayinformation includes information 2011 for identifying the battery pack,information 2012 relating to the usage period of the battery pack,information 2013 relating to the life expectancy of the battery pack,information 2014 relating to whether or not there is abnormality ordeterioration of the battery pack, and an operating button 2131 tocontrol operations of the battery pack.

The operating button 2131 is an operating button for setting the batterypack regarding whether or not to operate in an energy conservation mode.In a case of being set to the energy conservation mode, the output powerof the battery pack is suppressed, and accordingly can be used for longperiods of time. When the finger of the user touches the operatingbutton 2131, the display switches between “ON” where the energyconservation mode is set, and “OFF” where the energy conservation modeis not set. Upon the operating mode (e.g., energy conservation mode) ofthe battery being changed by operating the operating button 2131, thecommunication unit 232 of the cloud server 111 transmits controlinformation for changing the operating mode to the battery pack. Uponreceiving the control information from the cloud server 111, the batterypack changes the operating mode according to the received controlinformation. Thus, battery packs mounted to devices can be remotelycontrolled.

Note that the cloud server 111 may store user individual IDs foridentifying users, battery packs, and battery pack operation content, ina correlated manner beforehand. In this case, identifying a battery packand user at the time of the battery pack being mounted enables batterypacks to be made to operate according to control corresponding to theidentified user. The method for identifying the user will be describedlater.

Description has been made so far regarding a case where battery packsare mounted to devices, but the same processing is performed in caseswhere battery packs are mounted to a distribution board as well.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationdisplayed on the monitor of the display device in a case where a batterypack has been mounted to a distribution board, according to the presentsecond embodiment. When a battery pack 103 is mounted to thedistribution board 104, the display information illustrated in FIG. 18is displayed on the monitor 256 of the display device 105. The displayinformation illustrated in FIG. 18 may be displayed not only when abattery pack 103 is mounted to the distribution board 104, but also in acase where instructions for displaying the state of the distributionboard 104 have been accepted by the input unit 257.

Displayed in the display screen illustrated in FIG. 18 are adistribution board image 2111 representing the distribution board,battery images 2021, 2022, and 2023 indicating that battery packs aremounted, and state-of-charge images 2031, 2032, and 2033 indicating thestate of charge of the battery packs. The display information generatingunit 406 of the cloud server 111 generates display information includingthe state of charge of the battery packs. The states of charge arerepresented by bar graphs corresponding to the remaining charge in thebatteries, as illustrated in FIG. 18.

The display screen illustrated in FIG. 18 further displays information2051, 2052, and 2053 for identifying battery packs corresponding tobattery identifiers. Each information 2051, 2052, and 2053 is a name foridentifying individual battery packs in the home, represented as numberssuch as “01” and “03”.

The monitor 256 is configured as a touch panel, with battery images2021, 21022, and 2023, representing the battery packs, being selectablydisplayed. When the finger 11 of the user touches one of the batteryimages 2021, 21022, and 2023, information relating to the battery packcorresponding to the touched battery image is displayed. In a case wherethe user selects a desired battery image, the display informationillustrated in FIGS. 13 through 17 is displayed.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating another example of display informationdisplayed on the monitor of the display device in a case where a batterypack has been mounted to a distribution board, according to the presentsecond embodiment. For example, the distribution board is provided withmultiple charging spaces to mount battery packs. The distribution boardnot only functions as a back-up power source in a case of a poweroutage, but also serves as a charger to charge the battery packs withelectric power. Accordingly, notifying how many battery packs cancurrently be mounted to the distribution board will further improve easeof use.

The display screen illustrated in FIG. 19 indicates that one of thethree charging spaces provided to the distribution board 104 is empty.An image 2024 indicating a charging space where no battery pack ismounted is displayed.

Note that in the present second embodiment, the cloud server 111 mayeffect control so as to display battery packs currently not mounted todevices, or may effect control so as to display information relating tobattery packs currently not mounted to devices.

Although multiple devices associated with the display device beforehandare displayed in the present second embodiment, and the mounted state ofthe battery packs to multiple devices displayed, the present disclosureis not restricted to this in particular. Information specifying devicesfor display of the mounted state of battery packs may be included in thedisplay request transmitted from the display device to the cloud server,and the mounted state of battery packs as to the specified devices maybe displayed along with display of the specified devices.

Also, although multiple devices associated with the display devicebeforehand are displayed in the present second embodiment, the presentdisclosure is not restricted to this in particular; user household IDsand multiple devices may be associated, with all devices associated witha user household ID being displayed. In this case, at the time ofaccepting, from a certain display device, a request to display themounted state of the battery packs of the multiple devices which acertain household has, the cloud server 111 may acquire the batteryidentifiers of all battery packs mounted to each of all the deviceswhich the certain household has, and the remaining charge of thebatteries which each of the battery packs has. The cloud server 111 maythen display the information for identifying the battery packscorresponding to the acquired battery identifiers and the remainingcharge of the battery packs corresponding to the acquired batteryidentifiers together.

Also in the present second embodiment, upon the user making a request todisplay the mounted state of battery packs 103, a display request istransmitted to the cloud server 111, log information is read out fromthe storage unit 233 of the cloud server 111, and display information isgenerated, but this is not restrictive.

An arrangement may be made where the display request is transmitted tothe battery pack 103 associated with the display device, with thedisplay device 105 acquiring log information from the storage unit 217of the battery pack 103 and acquiring display information. At this time,the display information is not generated at the cloud server 111, butwithin the display device 105. That is to say, the display device 105has a display information generating unit having the same functions asthe display information generating unit 406.

Also, although the life expectancy of the battery is estimated in thebattery pack 103, the present disclosure is not restricted to this inparticular; the cloud server 111 may acquire the charging/dischargingcycle from the battery pack 103 and estimate the life expectancy usingthe acquired charging/discharging cycle. Also, although the usage periodof the battery pack 103 is detected at the battery pack 103, the presentdisclosure is not restricted to this in particular; the cloud server 111may acquire the date of starting usage from the battery pack 103 andcalculate the usage period from the acquired date of starting usage.

Third Embodiment

In a third embodiment, a user using a battery pack is identified. FIG.20 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an informationproviding system according to a third embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Upon the user 10 mounting a battery pack 103 to a device101, the battery pack 103 performs communication with the display device105 which the user 10 has, and acquires a user individual ID foridentifying the user 10 from the display device 105. The battery pack103 then transmits log information including the user individual ID tothe cloud server 111 (or server 121) situated on the network. Note thatthe same processing is performed in a case where a battery pack 103 ismounted to the distribution board 104, as with a case of a battery pack103 being mounted to a device 101. The same processing may also beperformed in a case where a battery pack 103 is detached from thedistribution board 104, as with a case of a battery pack 103 beingdetached from a device 101.

Communication between the battery pack 103 and the display device 105 isperformed by wireless communication such as, for example, Bluetooth (aregistered trademark) or the like. The battery pack 103 and displaydevice 105 are paired beforehand, and accordingly are connected bycoming within a communicable distance of each other.

Note that the battery pack 103 and display device 105 may each also beprovided with GPS, with the battery pack 103 connecting with the displaydevice 105 closest in proximity. Accordingly, in a case where there aremultiple display devices in a communicable distance with the batterypack 103, the display device which the user that has mounted the batterypack 103 to the device 101 can be identified.

When a battery pack 103 is mounted to one of multiple devices 101, thecloud server 111 (or server 121) acquires log information including abattery identifier for identifying the battery pack 103, a deviceidentifier for identifying the device to which the battery pack 103 hasbeen mounted, and the user individual ID. The cloud server 111 (orserver 121) controls the display device 105 associated with the batteryidentifier, so as to display information indicating that the usercorresponding to the acquired user individual ID has mounted the batterypack corresponding to the acquired battery identifier to the devicecorresponding to the acquired device identifier.

The display device 105 displays information indicating that the usercorresponding to the acquired user individual ID has mounted the batterypack corresponding to the acquired battery identifier to the devicecorresponding to the acquired device identifier.

The cloud server 111 (or server 121) stores each of the batteryidentifier, the device identifier, and the user individual ID, acquiredfrom the battery pack 103, as usage history in a correlated manner. In acase where the battery pack 103 is mounted to one of the multipledevices 101, the cloud server 111 (or server 121) compares the userindividual ID included in the log information acquired from the batterypack 103, with a user individual ID stored as usage history correlatedwith the same battery identifier as the battery identifier included inlog information acquired from the battery pack 103 at the samepoint-in-time as the point-in-time of having acquired the loginformation but on a different day from the day on which the loginformation was acquired. In a case where the user individual IDsdiffer, the cloud server 111 (or server 121) controls the display device105 corresponding to the user individual ID stored as usage history todisplay that the battery pack corresponding to the battery identifierhas been mounted to the device corresponding to the device identifier bythe user corresponding to the user individual ID.

Note that the following control may be performed in a case where abattery pack 103 mounted to one of the multiple devices 101 is detached.

Specifically, in a case where the battery pack 103 is detached from, theuser individual ID of the user who has performed the detaching iscompared with a user individual ID stored as usage history correlatedwith the same battery identifier as the battery identifier included inlog information acquired from the battery pack 103 at the samepoint-in-time as the point-in-time of the detaching having beenperformed but on a different day from the day on which the detaching wasperformed. In a case where the user individual IDs differ, the cloudserver 111 (or server 121) controls the display device 105 correspondingto the user individual ID stored as usage history to display that thebattery pack corresponding to the battery identifier has been detachedfrom the device corresponding to the device identifier by the usercorresponding to the user individual ID.

Also, in a case where a user mainly using a battery pack 103 is set outof multiple users using the battery pack 103 as a main user, and a userother than the main user mounts the battery pack 103 to a device 101,control may be effected to display information to this effect on thedisplay device 105 of the main user. A specific example of control is asfollows. The cloud server 111 (or server 121) stores the user individualID of the main user as a main user ID. Now, in a case where the batterypack 103 is mounted, the cloud server 111 (or server 121) compares theuser individual ID of the user who has performed this with the userindividual ID of the main user, stored in the cloud server 111 (orserver 121). In a case where the user individual IDs differ, the cloudserver 111 (or server 121) controls the display device 105 correspondingto the user individual ID of the main user to display that the batterypack corresponding to the battery identifier has been mounted to thedevice corresponding to the device identifier by the user correspondingto the user individual ID.

Also, in a case where a user other than the main user detaches thebattery pack 103 from a device 101, control may be effected to displayinformation to this effect on the display device 105 of the main user. Aspecific example of control is as follows. The cloud server 111 (orserver 121) stores the user individual ID of the main user as a mainuser ID. Now, in a case where the battery pack 103 is detached, thecloud server 111 (or server 121) compares the user individual ID of theuser who has performed this with the user individual ID of the main userstored in the cloud server 111 (or server 121). In a case where the userindividual IDs differ, the cloud server 111 (or server 121) controls thedisplay device 105 corresponding to the user individual ID of the mainuser to display that the battery pack corresponding to the batteryidentifier has been detached from the device corresponding to the deviceidentifier by the user corresponding to the user individual ID.

FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration ofa battery pack, display device, and cloud server according to the thirdembodiment of the present disclosure. Note that the hardwareconfiguration of the information providing system according to the thirdembodiment is the same as the hardware configuration of the informationproviding system of the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, sodescription will be omitted. Configurations in FIG. 21 which are thesame as the battery pack, display device, and cloud server according tothe modification of the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 aredenoted with the same reference numerals, and description thereof willbe omitted.

The battery pack 103 includes the mounted state detection unit 301,identifier acquisition unit 302, log information transmission unit 303,and also a pairing information transmission unit 308 and a userindividual ID reception unit 309. Note that the communication unit 216illustrated in FIG. 3 includes the pairing information transmission unit308 and the user individual ID reception unit 309.

Upon the mounted state detection unit 301 detecting that the batterypack 103 has been mounted to the device 101, the pairing informationtransmission unit 308 transmits pairing information to communicablycommunicate with a particular display device 105. Note that the pairinginformation is information generated in paring processing for thedevices to authenticate each other. The battery pack 103 and the displaydevice 105 stored the same pairing information.

The user individual ID reception unit 309 receives the user individualID transmitted from the display device 105. The user individual ID is anidentifier for identifying the user.

The log information transmission unit 303 transmits log informationincluding the device identifier and battery identifier acquired by theidentifier acquisition unit 302 and the user individual ID acquired bythe user individual ID reception unit 309, to the cloud server 111.

The display device 105 includes the display information reception unit501, information display unit 502, and also a pairing informationreception unit 505 and a user individual ID transmission unit 506.

The pairing information reception unit 505 receives the paringinformation transmitted by the battery pack 103. In a case where thepairing information received by the pairing information reception unit505 matches the pairing information stored beforehand, the userindividual ID transmission unit 506 transmits the user individual ID tothe battery pack 103. The user individual ID is stored in the memory 253beforehand. Note that an identifier identifying the display device maybe used instead of the user individual ID.

The cloud server 111 includes the log information reception unit 401,battery pack management database 402, mounted device identifying unit403, mounted battery identifying unit 404, object display deviceselecting unit 405, display information generating unit 406, and displayinformation transmission unit 407.

The battery pack management database 402 stores the device identifier,battery identifier, user individual ID, and date-and-time information,included in the log information received by the log informationreception unit 401, as usage history for each user household (group).

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in a batterypack management database according to the present third embodiment. Asillustrated in FIG. 22, the battery pack management database 402 storesa user individual ID (user individual identifier), battery pack ID(battery identifier), device ID (device identifier), mounted state, anddate-and-time information, correlated with a user household ID (userhousehold identifier). For example, it can be understood that in ahousehold corresponding to user household ID “0XX168”, a battery packcorresponding to battery pack ID “1” has been mounted to a devicecorresponding to device ID “XX01”, at 58 minutes past 10 o'clock on Dec.17, 2013, by a user corresponding to user individual ID “A”. Note thatthe user household ID (user household identifier) may be included in thereceived log information. The storage unit 233 may also store beforehanda table in which are correlated the battery pack ID (battery identifier)or device ID (device identifier) and the user household ID (userhousehold identifier). The log information reception unit 401 mayacquire the user household ID corresponding to the battery pack ID ordevice ID included in the received log information from the table, andstore this in the battery pack management database 402.

Upon a battery pack being mounted to one of the multiple devices, theobject display device selecting unit 405 identifies the user individualID associated with the battery pack that has been mounted at generallythe same point-in-time of a day different from the day where the batterypack was mounted, based on the usage history. Note that generally thesame point-in-time may mean the same point-in-time, or may mean apoint-in-time within around one hour before or after the samepoint-in-time. The object display device selecting unit 405 compares theacquired user individual ID with the identified user identifier. In acase where the acquired user individual ID and the identified userindividual ID are different, the object display device selecting unit405 selects a display device associated with the identified userindividual ID. Note that the storage unit 233 stores a table correlatinguser individual IDs and display devices 105 beforehand. The objectdisplay device selecting unit 405 acquires a display device 105corresponding to the identified user individual ID from the table.

On the other hand, in a case where the acquired user identifier and theidentified user identifier are the same, the object display deviceselecting unit 405 selects a display device associated with the batterypack ID. Note that the storage unit 233 stores a table correlatingbattery pack IDs and display devices 105 beforehand. The object displaydevice selecting unit 405 acquires a display device 105 corresponding tothe battery pack ID included in the received log information from thetable.

The display information generating unit 406 generates displayinformation to be displayed on the display device 105, indicating that abattery pack corresponding to the acquired battery identifier has beenmounted to a device corresponding to the acquired device identifier by auser corresponding to the acquired user individual ID.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationdisplayed on a monitor of the display device in the present thirdembodiment. The mounted device identifying unit 403 identifies that thedevice 101 to which the battery pack 103 has been mounted is anautomobile, based on the device identifier included in the loginformation. The mounted battery identifying unit 404 also identifiesthat the battery pack 103 mounted to the device 101 is battery pack No.7, based on the battery identifier included in the log information.

When the battery pack is mounted to one of the multiple devices, theobject display device selecting unit 405 also identifies the userindividual ID associated with the battery pack mounted at generally thesame point-in-time of a day different to the day that the battery packwas mounted, based on the usage history. Here the user who has mountedthe battery pack (battery pack No. 7) to the device (automobile) isOlder Brother, and the user how has mounted the battery pack (batterypack No. 7) to a device at the same point-in-time the day before, whichis a day different from the day where the battery pack was mounted, isFather. In this case, the object display device selecting unit 405select the display device associated with the identified user individualID, because the acquired user individual ID (user individual ID of OlderBrother) and the identified user individual ID (user individual ID ofFather) are different. That is to say, the object display deviceselecting unit 405 selects the display device that Father has.

The display information generating unit 406 then generates displayinformation saying “OLDER BROTHER HAS MOUNTED BATTERY PACK NO. 07 TOAUTOMOBILE!”. The storage unit 233 at this time may store a name ornickname or the like to be displayed on the display device 105correlated with the user individual ID beforehand, and the displayinformation generating unit 406 may read the name or nicknamecorresponding to the user individual ID from the storage unit 233 andinclude in the display information.

The information display unit 502 of the display device 105 displays thedisplay information 602 “OLDER BROTHER HAS MOUNTED BATTERY PACK NO. 07TO AUTOMOBILE!” on the monitor 256.

Note that in the present third embodiment, the control unit 231 of thecloud server 111 may identify the user of the battery pack 103 andidentify a timing at which to charge the battery pack 103, based on theusage history, and control the display device 105 associated with theidentified user to display the timing at which to charge the batterypack 103.

That is to say, the control unit 231 of the cloud server 111 identifiesthe user using the battery pack. The control unit 231 then identifies ascheduled point-in-time at which the battery pack is to be mounted to adevice after the current point-in-time, based on the point-in-time atwhich the battery pack was mounted to the device the previous day orearlier, for example, identifies a charging completion time for chargingof the battery pack to be completed based on the current remainingcharge in the battery pack, and decides a point-in-time obtained bysubtracting the charging completion time from the identified scheduledpoint-in-time as the timing at which the battery pack should be charged.The control unit 231 of the cloud server 111 controls the display deviceassociated with the identified user to display the timing at which tocharge the battery pack. Accordingly, a user who routinely uses thebattery pack can be notified regarding when the battery pack should becharged.

Fourth Embodiment

While a display device made up of a mobile terminal such as a smartphoneor the like displays information indicating that a battery pack has beenmounted to a device or distribution board in the first through thirdembodiments, in a fourth embodiment a display unit provided to thedistribution board displays information indicating that a battery packhas been mounted to a device or distribution board.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating the external view of a distributionboard in a state with a cover open, according to the present fourthembodiment, and FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating the external view ofthe distribution board in a state with a cover closed, according to thepresent fourth embodiment. The distribution board 104 includes multiplebreakers 3001, multiple battery accommodation portions 3002, and adisplay unit 3003, as illustrated in FIGS. 24 and 25. The multiplebattery accommodation portions 3002 each accommodate a battery pack 103so as to be capable of charging and discharging. In the example in FIG.24, the distribution board 104 has three battery accommodation portions3002, with a battery pack 103 mounted to each battery accommodationportion 3002.

The display unit 3003 is disposed on the front face of the cover of thedistribution board 104, and is configured as a liquid crystal touchpanel, for example. The distribution board 104 includes theconfiguration of the display device 105 illustrated in FIG. 11.

When a battery pack 103 is mounted to the distribution board 104,display information illustrated in FIG. 25 is displayed on the displayunit 3003. The display information illustrated in FIG. 25 is notrestricted to be displayed only when a battery pack 103 is mounted tothe distribution board 104, and may be displayed in a case where aninstruction has been accepted to perform a display regarding the stateof the distribution board 104. The display unit 3003 also displaysdisplay information such as illustrated in FIG. 12 when the battery pack103 is mounted to the device 101.

Displayed in the display screen illustrated in FIG. 25 are adistribution board image 2111 representing the distribution board,battery images 2021, 2022, and 2023 indicating that battery packs aremounted, and state-of-charge images 2031, 2032, and 2033 indicating thestate of charge of the battery packs. The display information generatingunit 406 of the cloud server 111 generates display information includingthe state of charge of the battery packs. The states of charge arerepresented by bar graphs corresponding to the remaining charge in thebatteries, as illustrated in FIG. 25.

The display screen illustrated in FIG. 25 further displays information2051, 2052, and 2053 for identifying battery packs corresponding tobattery identifiers. Each information 2051, 2052, and 2053 is a name foridentifying multiple individual battery packs in the home, representedas numbers such as “01” and “03”, for example.

The display unit 3003 is configured as a touch panel, with batteryimages 2021, 2022, and 2023, representing the battery packs, beingselectably displayed. When the finger 11 of the user touches one of thebattery images 2021, 2022, and 2023, information relating to the batterypack corresponding to the touched battery image is displayed. In a casewhere the user selects a desired battery image, the display informationillustrated in FIG. 26 or FIG. 27 is displayed.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding information relating to a battery pack selected by the user,and information of devices which can be operated in a case of mountingthe current battery pack, according to the present fourth embodiment.FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationincluding information relating to a battery pack selected by the user,information of a device which can be operated in a case of mounting thecurrent battery pack, and information of a device which will not operatein a case of mounting the current battery pack, according to the presentfourth embodiment. The contents of the display information illustratedin FIG. 26 are the same as the contents of the display informationillustrated in FIG. 15, and the contents of the display informationillustrated in FIG. 27 are the same as the contents of the displayinformation illustrated in FIG. 16, so description will be omitted.

Information indicating that battery packs 103 are mounted to devices 101or the distribution board 104 is thus displayed on the display unit 3003provided to the distribution board 104, so the user can confirm at thedistribution board 104 the state of battery packs 103 being charged bythe distribution board 104.

Note that the components in the above-described embodiments may beconfigured using dedicated hardware, or may be realized by executingsoftware programs appropriate for the components. The components may berealized by a program executing unit such as a CPU or like processorreading out and executing a software program recorded in a recordingmedium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory or the like.

Although description has been made based on embodiments regarding aninformation providing method and information providing system accordingto one or multiple embodiments, the present disclosure is not restrictedto these embodiments. Forms configured by applying modificationsconceivable by those skilled in the art to the embodiments, andcombinations of components of different embodiments, may also beencompassed in the scope of one or multiple embodiments, as long as notdeparting from the essence of the present disclosure.

Service Types

The technology described above in all of the embodiments may be realizedby the following types of cloud service. However, the type of cloudservice by which the above technology described in the above embodimentscan be realized is not restricted to these.

Service Type 1: In-House Data Center Type Cloud Service

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating the overall image of services whichthe information providing system provides in a service type 1 (in-housedata center type cloud service). This type is a type where a serviceprovider 120 obtains information from a group 100, and provides a userwith service. In this type, the service provider 120 functions as a datacenter operator. That is to say, the service provider 120 has a cloudserver 243 to manage big data. Accordingly, the data center operatordoes not exist.

In this type, the service provider 120 operates and manages the datacenter (cloud server) 243. The service provider 120 also managesoperating system (OS) 242 and applications 241. The service provider 120provides services (arrow 244) using the OS 242 and applications 241managed by the service provider 120.

Service Type 2: IaaS Usage Type Cloud Service

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating the overall image of services whichthe information providing system provides in a service type 2 (IaaSusage type cloud service). IaaS stands for “Infrastructure as aService”, and is a cloud service providing model where the base forcomputer system architecture and operation itself is provided as anInternet-based service.

In this type, the data center operator 110 operates and manages the datacenter 243 (cloud server). The service provider 120 manages the OS 242and applications 241. The service provider 120 provides services (Arrow244) using the OS 242 and applications 241 managed by the serviceprovider 120.

Service Type 3: PaaS Usage Type Cloud Service

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating the overall image of services whichthe information providing system provides in a service type 3 (PaaSusage type cloud service). PaaS stands for “Platform as a Service”, andis a cloud service providing model where a platform serving as thefoundation for software architecture and operation is provided as anInternet-based service.

In this type, the data center operator 110 manages the OS 242 andoperates and manages the data center 243 (cloud server). The serviceprovider 120 also manages the applications 241. The service provider 120provides services (arrow 244) using the OS 242 managed by the datacenter operator 110 and applications 241 managed by the service provider120.

Service Type 4: SaaS Usage Type Cloud Service

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating the overall image of services whichthe information providing system provides in a service type 4 (SaaSusage type cloud service). SaaS stands for “Software as a Service”. ASaaS usage type cloud service is a cloud service providing model havingfunctions where corporations or individuals who do not have a datacenter (cloud server) can use applications provided by a platformprovider having a data center (cloud server) for example, over a networksuch as the Internet.

In this type, the data center operator 110 manages the applications 241,manages the OS 242, and operates and manages the data center 243 (cloudserver). The service provider 120 provides services (arrow 244) usingthe OS 242 and applications 241 managed by the data center operator 110.

In each of these types, the service provider 120 performs the act ofproviding services. The service provider or data center operator maydevelop the OS, applications, database for big data, and so forth,in-house, or may commission this to a third party, for example.

The information providing method and information providing deviceaccording to the present disclosure enables the user to comprehenddevices to which battery packs are mounted, and are useful as aninformation providing method and information providing device whichprovide information to a display device based on the mounted state ofbattery packs which can be mounted to multiple devices.

The battery pack according to the present disclosure can notify to theuser which of multiple battery packs have been mounted to which ofmultiple devices, and is useful as a battery pack which can be mountedto multiple devices.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for displaying information on a display,comprising: receiving a request to display, on the display, informationindicating whether each of a plurality of battery packs associated withthe display, is mounted on a device of a plurality of devices associatedwith the display, each of the plurality of battery packs being mountableon the plurality of devices; and in response to the request, displaying,on a monitor of the display, information indicating whether or not abattery pack of the plurality of battery packs associated with thedisplay is mounted on each device of the plurality of devices associatedwith the display, wherein, in the displaying, a first image is displayedin a different manner from a second image, the first image indicating amounted state of a battery pack on a device of the plurality of devicesassociated with the display, the second image indicating an unmountedstate of a battery pack on a device of the plurality of devicesassociated with the display.
 2. A method for displaying information on adisplay, comprising: receiving a request to display, on the display,information indicating whether each of a plurality of battery packsassociated with the display, is mounted on a device of a plurality ofdevices associated with the display, each of the plurality of batterypacks being mountable on the plurality of devices; in response to therequest, displaying, on a monitor of the display, information indicatingwhether or not a battery pack of the plurality of battery packsassociated with the display is mounted on each device of the pluralityof devices associated with the display; receiving a selection of abattery pack from the plurality of battery packs displayed on thedisplay; and in response to the selection of the battery pack,displaying information on the selected battery pack.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 2, wherein, in the displaying the information on theselected batter pack, the information includes history informationindicating at least one device which has been used with the selectedbattery pack.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the historyinformation indicating at least one device which has been used with theselected battery pack includes information indicating a history of aplurality of devices which have been used with the selected batterypack.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the informationindicating the history of the plurality of devices that have been usedwith the selected battery pack includes: information to identify each ofthe plurality of devices which have been used with the selected batterypack, and a number of times of usages of the selected battery pack witheach of the plurality of devices.
 6. The method according to claim 4,wherein the information indicating the history of the plurality ofdevices includes: information to identify each of the plurality ofdevices which have been used with the selected battery pack, and a timeperiod of usage of the selected battery pack with each of the pluralityof devices.
 7. The method according to claim 2, wherein, in the displayof the information on the selected battery pack, the informationincludes advertisement information to suggest buying a new battery packto replace.
 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein theadvertisement information includes a hypertext to display a homepage ofa store that sells the selected battery pack.
 9. The method according toclaim 7, wherein the advertisement information includes informationindicating a store near the display.
 10. The method according to claim2, wherein, in the displaying the information on the selected batterypack, the information includes information on at least one device, ofthe plurality of devices, which is operable when the selected batterypack is mounted on the at least one device.
 11. The method according toclaim 2, wherein, in the displaying the information on the selectedbattery pack, the information includes: first information on a firstdevice, of the plurality of devices, which is operable when the selectedbattery pack is mounted on the first device, and second information on asecond device, of the plurality of devices, which is not operable whenthe selected battery pack is mounted to the second device.
 12. Themethod according to claim 11, wherein, in the displaying the informationon the selected battery pack, the first information on the first deviceis displayed in a different manner from the second information on thesecond device.